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AIBREW HOFEE 

From, an Original Drawing . 



MEMOIRS 



OF THE 



LIFE 



OF 



ANDREW HOFER; 

■MM* 

CONTAINING 

AN ACCOUNT OF THE TRANSACTIONS IN THE TYROL 
DURING THE YEAR 1809. 



TAKEN FROM THE GERMAN. 




By CHARLES HENRY HALL, Esq. 



LONDON : 
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 

1820. 



.H7 



7L 



London : Printed bv C. Rowoi th, 
Bell-yard Teiiiplc-bar. 



PREFACE 



" The History of Hofer" was first printed 
* at Leipsig in the year 1817. It is an ano- 
nymous publication, but it has been con- 
jectured, and not without reason, that it is 
the production either of Baron Hormayr, 
one of the most active leaders of the Ty- 
rolese patriots, or of some person in his 
confidence, whom he supplied with mate- 
rials for the work. It is evidently the 
production of a man, who, if not an actor 
himself in the scenes which he describes, 
was at least intimately connected with those 
who were. There can be no question about 
the authenticity of his facts, they are 

a 2 



IV PREFACE. 

supported throughout by the authority of 
original documents, and the minuteness of 
his details impresses upon them the charac- 
ter of truth, although they may be devoid 
of interest to the reader, when they relate 
to individuals of humble origin and station 
and unknown beyond the limits of their 
native mountains. 

It may perhaps appear extraordinary to 
the reader, that in a book which professes 
to be the History of Hofer, Hofer should 
play so subordinate a part. Whatever 
blame may be attached to this contradic- 
tion between the title and the subject of 
these few pages, must in justice be thrown 
on the original, as I could give no more 
than what my materials gave me, though I 
certainly was not without suspicion that in 
more than one instance, the fame of Hofer 
had been sacrificed by the writer, to that of 
his more fortunate rival Hormayr. We have 



PREFACE. V 

seen, however, in some famous poems and 
popular novels, that the hero scarcely shows 
his face till the last page, where he is 
either killed or married ; and here we have 
a history of real facts, in which the ap- 
pointed hero does little more than his ima- 
ginary brethren. I fear that the character of 
Hofer would have stood higher in our eyes, 
if this translation of his memoirs had never 
appeared ; but as the discovery of truth is 
of much more importance than the excite- 
ment of fictitious interest, perhaps I may 
not be totally undeserving of thanks for 
having attempted to make the true cha- 
racter of the Tyrolese Chief familiar to the 
English public. 

In point of composition the original is 
materially defective, it wants that which 
is the first and greatest merit in all com- 
positions — lucid arrangement. The order 
of time is not observed, and the atten- 



VI PREFACE. 

tion is distracted by a variety of collateral 
and adventitious circumstances which im- 
pede the progress of the main story. I 
have therefore thought myself at liberty to 
deviate in several instances from the course 
of the original, for the sake of maintaining 
the consistency and uniformity of the nar- 
rative. 

Some apology I also think it necessary 
to make for the paraphrastic character of 
the translation. The truth is, the style of 
the German author is so perplexed and 
intricate, so loaded with metaphor and po- 
etical imagery, and in many places so very 
harsh and obscure, that a literal English 
translation would be perfectly unintelligible, 
I am however persuaded, that if I have 
been compelled to desert my author in his 
language, I have faithfully adhered to him 
in his sense and meaning ; and that, without 
having made any essential alteration in his 



PREFACE. Vll 

character, I have endeavoured to present 
him to the public in a more pleasing dress, 
and a form more likely to engage attention. 
It may perhaps be said that the time for 
such a publication is gone by, and that the 
achievements of Hofer and his companions 
are forgotten, — but this is not so. It will be 
long indeed before the events of the revo- 
lutionary war, in which every power in 
Europe was more or less engaged, have 
ceased to excite a lively interest in our 
minds; although the storm is passed, we 
still listen with anxious solicitude to a reci- 
tal of its ravages ; and at all events it is 
impossible to contemplate the period, how- 
ever remote, when the struggles of a virtu- 
ous and patriotic nation to recover its 
ancient and legitimate rights, shall cease to 
interest a free, loyal, and generous people. 



INTRODUCTION 



In every age, the passions of mankind — at- 
tempts to resist what cannot be avoided— un- 
foreseen events — a distress, whether real or ima- 
ginary — have produced Political Revolutions. To 
whatever cause such convulsions are to be attri- 
buted, when the impulse is once given, thousands 
feel, think, and act as one man. With passions, 
perhaps, raging and tumultuous as the ocean in 
a storm, they become calm and silent when 
they hear the voice of their leader. — They 
follow blindly when he calls. — It appears then 
as if a whole people had but one will, and one 
power, one head, one heart, and one arm. And 
if no private ends of ambition or avarice are to 
be gratified, it is immaterial what may have 
been the origin or the circumstances of the 
person whom they choose for their guide. 
Birth, high station, or opulence, are not neces- 
sary to procure him adherents ; the recollection 



X INTRODUCTION. 

of former insignificance is lost in the admiration 
of present heroism. — Tell, the deliverer of Swit- 
zerland and the idol of his countrymen, was, a 
simple mountain shepherd — Gustavus Vasa was 
for a time, a miner — and Andrew Hofer, the re- 
nowned chief of the Tyrolese patriots, was the 
landlord of a village inn. 

The character of this celebrated man, — his 
incorruptible honesty, his tenacious adherence 
to the religion and customs of his ancestors, and, 
above all, the piety and humility which he dis- 
played during the success of 1 809, in which he 
bore so conspicuous a part, give him the most 
indisputable claim to our admiration ; nor will 
this admiration be diminished when we recollect 
the meanness of his origin, the little education 
he had received, and the confined circle in 
which his early life had been passed. We are 
not prepared by such recollections for the talent 
and firmness which he exhibited at a moment so 
unfortunate and yet so glorious for his country ; 
or for the extraordinary skill and management 
by which he kept together his patriotic countiy- 
men (with a degree of secrecy that appears 
almost incredible), even after peace was finally 
concluded between France and Austria. 

For the better comprehension, however, of 
the conduct both of Hofer and his countrymen, 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

it will be necessary to take a brief view of the 
Tyrol — of its natural and political situation, 
and of its history in modern times. 

The country now known by the name of the 
Tyrol, (a name derived originally from Teriolis, 
an ancient castle in the valley of Venosta,) was 
the ancient Vindelicia. At the destruction of 
the Roman empire it fell into the hands of the 
Goths, and afterwards became successively the 
property of the Lombards, the Franks, the Ba- 
varians, and Austrians. 

The whole country is divided into ten dis- 
tricts, and its population, including the bishop- 
ricks of Trent and Brixen, and the Vorarlberg, 
amounts to 700,000 souls. It is divided by 
three regular chains of mountains. The Bren- 
ner, which is situated between Innspruck and 
Sterzing, being as it were the centre from 
which they branch off. These mountains, 
though their summits are covered with per- 
petual snow, are notwithstanding rich in a great 
variety of natural productions — in many of the 
vallies corn is brought to great perfection, par- 
ticularly in the Vintsghau and Pusterthal, and 
in some of them are to be found chesnuts and 
vines, and the most delicious fruits of Italy. 

During the interval between ancient and 
modern history, which is usually called " The 

a 2 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

Middle Ages," the Tyrol was distributed amongst 
a variety of petty lords, spiritual and temporal, 
Italian and German. It was for the interest of 
the Emperors of Germany, that this state of 
things should continue : for so long as it sub- 
sisted, they could march their armies, whenever 
it was their wish to do so, both to and from 
Italy without opposition. In the time of Ro- 
dolph of Hapsburg, Mainhard, Count of Goerz 
and Tirol, was the first who gained ascendancy 
in this mountainous region. He appears to 
have been a person of distinguished abilities, 
and was one of the principal instruments in the 
elevation of Rodolph to the throne of the 
empire. 

It is not easy at this day to ascertain the 
•precise boundaries of Mainhard's possessions, 
nor is it worth while to make the attempt. It 
js sufficient for our purpose to know, that upon 
the death of Otho II. Duke of Bavaria, when 
his possessions were divided, the Tyrol, or at 
least a considerable portion of it, fell to the lot 
of Count Albert ; that Mainhard afterwards ob- 
tained it by marriage ; and that, in later times, 
Margaret, called Maultasch, or the great mouth, 
to whom the property had descended, and who 
had connected herself by two successive mar- 
riages, first with the Princes of Bavaria, and 






INTRODUCTION. Xlll 

then with the house of Austria, granted the 
reversion of her Tyrolese possessions to the 
Dukes of Austria. This grant was subsequently 
confirmed by Charles IV. and since that period 
this province has remained an appanage to the 
Austrian family. The princes of that house 
bearing the title of counts of Tyrol. 

Of all the princes of that illustrious house, 
Frederic IV. son of Leopold II. who was killed 
at the battle of Sempach, appears to have been 
the first who understood the value, and exerted 
himself for the improvement of this interesting 
country. On attaining his majority, he received 
the Tyrol and its dependencies as his share of 
the patrimonial inheritance. He w T as early in- 
volved in a war which broke out between the 
Abbot of St. Gallen and the inhabitants of the 
canton of Appenzel, and from an auxiliary it 
was not long before he became a principal in 
the contest. During the greater part of his life 
indeed he seems to have been engaged in con- 
tests with one or other of his powerful neigh- 
bours, and it was not till after repeated defeats 
and grievous losses, that he became sensible of 
his error. He then seriously applied himself to 
the interior administration and government of 
the Tyrol, and to his exertions it was chiefly 
owing, that, in defiance of the opposition of the 

a 3 



XIV INTRODUCTION. 

Pope, the wealthy nobles and prelates, and 
some of the imperial cities, the Tyrolese were 
eventually enabled to establish a free consti- 
tution. 

The form of this constitution resembled that 
which prevailed in most of the hereditary states 
of the house of Austria* 

As a source of revenue, the Tyrol was not 
at any time highly estimated by the Austrian 
government, although there can be no doubt that 
considerable profit was occasionally derived from 
the salt pits at Halle, and the mines of silver 
and copper at Schwarz ; but the princes of that 
dynasty always looked upon it with higher and 
better feelings, as a possession for which their 
ancestors had successfully contended with power- 
ful competitors, and which, in the independent 
spirit and generous loyalty of its inhabitants, at 
all events secured to them a firm and impreg- 
nable barrier on that side of their dominions. 



* The college of the Land Captain consisted of a Land Cap- 
tain, four Deputies of the estate of Prelates, who were the 
Provosts of Gneiss and Neustift j the Abbot of Stambs and the 
Provost of St. Michael ; four Deputies of the estate of Knights 5 
the Deputies of the towns of Meran, Botzen, Jnnspruck, Halle, 
and Sterzing 5 and the Deputies from the Judicatories and the 
Estate of Peasants. The Bishops of Trent and Brixen with 
theii chapters were also members of the land captainship. 



INTRODUCTION. XV 

The Tyrol has indeed been emphatically called 
" The shield of Austria." 

The Tyrolese in the mean time were de- 
votedly attached to the house of Austria. Amidst 
the continual dissensions, and the frequent wars 
by which Europe has been distracted, their 
fidelity to that house continued unshaken. — 
Under its mild and temperate sway their ancient 
rights and privileges were preserved inviolate ; 
even their prejudices were respected ; and the 
natural consequence was, that, whilst other 
countries were agitated by a restless spirit of 
innovation and hostility to their existing go- 
vernments, the Tyrolese remained tranquil and 
unmoved, desirous of no change, and perfectly 
satisfied with the freedom which they were 
permitted to enjoy. With these feelings, and 
with so decided an attachment to the govern- 
ment of Austria, it is not surprising that when 
they were transferred to the dominion of Ba- 
varia, they should have felt so deeply the change 
which took place in their situation. 

By the eighth article of the treaty of Presburg 
which was concluded in the year 1806, the 
Tyrol and Vorarlberg were given to Bavaria in 
exchange for the Dutchy of Wurtzburg, on the 
same conditions, and with the same rights only, 

a 4 



XVI INTRODUCTION. 

which Austria had possessed when they were 
subject to that government. 

Thus a country which had continued under 
the dominion of the same power, during the 
space of four centuries and a half, was trans- 
ferred to another by a foreign conqueror, with- 
out any public act of its own, any formal con- 
vocation of its Diet, or any customary homage 
offered or accepted on either side. It was 
solemnly promised indeed, by the court of Mu- 
nich, that the ancient constitution of the Tyro- 
lese should not be violated, that not an iota of 
it should be changed, that all their rights and 
immunities should be retained, and that their 
real interests should be as carefully protected 
by the Bavarian government as they had been by 
that of Austria. But all these specious promises 
were basely violated. 

In fact the Bavarians did not understand the 
temper and character of their new subjects, and 
by the manner in which they treated them 
proved themselves unworthy of being their 
masters. Buonaparte himself did not scruple to 
avow this opinion to F. M. Count Bubna. 
" The Bavarians," he said, " did not know how 
to govern the Tyrolese, and were not worthy to 
possess that noble country." It seemed, indeed, 



INTRODUCTION. XV11 

as if it were the opinion of the court of Bavaria 
that the safest and easiest mode of governing 
these mountaineers was to oppress, harass, and 
impoverish them. The system* of vexation 
which was adopted, irritated to madness a gene- 
rous people, who were at all times easily con- 
trouled by gentleness and kindness ; and we 
cannot wonder that the attachment to their 
ancient masters, which was so remarkable a 
feature in their character, should be converted 
into a deep and irreconcilable hatred of their 
new ones. 

In this state of things, this brave and unfor- 
tunate people turned their eyes to the Archduke 
John, whom they had long looked upon as the 
patron of their country, and the mediator through 
whom all their complaints and wishes were to 
be carried to the Emperor. That prince, in his 
frequent excursions and rambles through the 
Tyrol, had become warmly attached to the 
spirited mountaineers. He had given it as his 
opinion, that the Tyrol might be made an im- 

* The Constitution of Frederic which had lasted for so many 
ages, was entirely overthrown. The representative states were 
suppressed ; the public funds seized, all ecclesiastical property 
confiscated j new taxes were levied daily, specie of course be- 
came scarce j and the Austrian bond bills were reduced to half 
their value. 



XVI 11 INTRODUCTION. 

pregnable fortress, and that by proper discipline 
its inhabitants might be formed into excellent 
troops; and if the plans which he suggested had 
been carried into effect, the battle of Austerlitz 
might not have been so fatal in its consequences. 
Unhappily he was not attended to. 

It was not till the 11th of September, when 
the French were rapidly advancing from Bou- 
logne towards the Rhine, that the necessity of 
taking some immediate steps to make amends 
for this neglect became evident. The Arch- 
duke was dispatched into the Tyrol, to repair in 
a few days the evil consequences of a long 
system of inattention. On the 10th of October, 
proclamations were issued to regulate the ope- 
rations of the armies : on the 14th the surrender 
of Ulm was known at Elchingen; and at this 
critical moment the Archduke was recalled from 
the Tyrol. 

It is impossible to account for that blind 
infatuation, which suffers party spirit, or court 
intrigues, to operate so far as to deprive a coun- 
try of its only chance of safety in the hour of 
extreme peril ; but so it was. The Archduke 
and the Tyrolese deputies separated at Brun- 
necken, mutually pledging themselves, whenever 
an opportunity should offer, to hazard every 
thing for the sake of restoring the Tyrol to its 
ancient possessors. 



INTRODUCTION. XIX 

It appears that a constant correspondence 
was afterwards carried on between the Archduke 
and the Tyrolese patriots, till the very moment 
that their insurrection broke out. The prox- 
imity of the district of Salzburg, whose vallies 
extend into the heart of the Tyrol, contributed 
in a great degree to facilitate this intercourse. 
There can be no doubt that the patriots acted 
by the advice, and with the concurrence of the 
Archduke, but he was fated never to return to 
a people who were so fondly attached to him, 
and in whose defence, had he been left to him- 
self, he would willingly have taken a most 
active part. 

The character of the Tyrolese is peculiarly 
interesting. They possess an independent spirit, 
a love of liberty combined with a love of order, 
a generous frankness and loyalty, which at this 
day is rarely to be met with. In every country 
in Europe the poison of revolutionary principles 
has more or less contaminated and corrupted 
national character ; but the Tyrolese still retain 
all their native energy and simplicity : like the 
inhabitants of all mountainous countries, they 
naturally acquire from their residences, and 
from the magnificence of the scenery by which 
they are surrounded, a habit of thought, re- 
flexion and meditation ; but their seriousness 






XX INTRODUCTION. 

does not degenerate into melancholy. They are 
naturally a cheerful people, and their cheerful- 
ness is remarkably displayed in the rapture with 
which they pour forth their national melodies. 
Their mode of singing is peculiar, passing sud- 
denly from the natural tones of a deep bass 
voice to the highest falsetto ; it bears some 
resemblance to the horn of the iilpine shepherds. 

The wild expression of their song discovers at 
once that it belongs to men accustomed to 
wander in the deepest solitudes, whose accents 
traversing the vallies are caught up and echoed 
by the herdsmen who inhabit the sides of the 
opposite mountains. 

The Tyrolese are an industrious people : their 
industry of course acquires a stimulus from their 
poverty,- — their wants, indeed, are few ; but few 
and simple as they are, they could not be sup- 
plied without a constant exertion both of inge- 
nuity and labour. They are excellent mechanics, 
of this numerous instances might be given; but 
they are not simply mechanics, for some of them 
have succeeded in those branches of mechanism 
which proceed from and illustrate the most 
recondite sciences. Among the most successful 
of those who have attempted the higher me- 
chanical artSj the celebrated Pierre Anik may 
be mentioned, who, though a simple herdsman, 



INTRODUCTION. XXI 

is become one of the best geographers in Ger- 
many, and has constructed a globe of wonderful 
perfection, which is to be seen in the castle of 
Innspruck. Success in the science of mechanics 
seems, indeed, to be the simple result of innate 
genius. A man destitute of education, through 
the force of an observant and reflecting mind, 
may discover the secrets of nature and apply to 
purposes of practical utility the means of power 
and motion presented to him. In a country 
like the Tyrol, abounding in streams, the inha- 
bitants must of necessity apply to their use the 
powers of the torrents and rivulets with which 
each cottage is surrounded. Thus the moun- 
tain torrents are seen to fall from step to step, 
conducted by wooden aqueducts formed in the 
rudest manner, but whose simple mechanism 
performs the most important functions of the 
household. The grinding of corn, the fabrica- 
tion of oil, the sharpening of tools, the irrigation 
of meadows, all is performed by the streams, 
and by the mills which they set in motion. 
Each peasant has his mill, and having once ob- 
tained the disposal of his principle of action, he 
modifies it according to his industry and his 
wants. 

Happily the Tyrolese are once more placed 
under the dominion of their ancient sovereigns : 



XX11 INTRODUCTION. 

it must be the wish of every honest and patri- 
otic mind that they should ever continue so. 
The nature of the country is admirably calcu- 
lated to preserve its independence. Under the 
protection of his own impenetrable fastnesses, 
the hardy peasant is the best defender of the 
soil he cultivates ; and if he avails himself with 
skill and promptitude of the advantageous posi- 
tions which the narrow passes or defiles in his 
mountains afford him, an invading army may 
be repelled, not only by fire-arms, but by masses 
of stone rolled down from the heights under 
which it must necessarily pass. Experience* 

* The following interesting account of Lefevre's expedition 
against the Tyrol was communicated by a Saxon officer, who 
was himself a witness of what he describes. " We had pene-- 
netrated to Innspruck," he says, " without great resistance, 
and although much was reported about the Tyrolese stationed 
upon and round the Brenner, we gave little credit to it, think- 
ing the rebels to have been dispersed by a short cannonade, 
and already considering ourselves as conquerors. Our entrance 
into the passes of the Brenner was only opposed by small 
corps, which continued to fall back after an obstinate though 
short resistance : among others I perceived a man, full eighty 
years of age, posted against the side of a rock, and sending 
death among our ranks at every shot ; upon the Bavarians 
descending from behind to make him prisoner, he shouted 
aloud Hurrah, struck the first man to the ground with a ball, 
seized the second, and with the ejaculation " In God's name /" 
precipitated himself with him into the abyss below. Marching 



INTRODUCTION. XX111 

has proved that this method of defence will 
be often successful for a time, but it will not be 
permanently so, and if left entirely to themselves 
these bold mountaineers might again be com- 
pelled to yield to an enemy superior in numbers 
and military skill ; but it is to be hoped that 
Austria will have profited by the lessons of ex- 
perience, and that she will never again permit 
the most attached and faithful of her subjects to 
be sacrificed for want of that assistance, which 
it is both her interest and her duty to give 
them. 

onwards, we heard from the summit of a high rock. — " Stephen, 
shall I chop it off yet T to which aloud " Nay" reverberated from 
the opposite side. This was told to the Duke of Dantzig, who, 
notwithstanding, ordered us to advance. The van, consisting 
of 4000 Bavarians, had just stormed a deep ravine, when we 
again heard over our heads u Hans ! for the most Holy Trinity /" 
Our terror was completed by the reply that immediately fol- 
lowed — " In the name of the Holy Trinity cut all loose above /" 
and ere a minute had elapsed, thousands of my comrades in 
arms were crushed, buried, and overwhelmed by an incredible 
heap of broken rock, stones and trees, hurled down upon us. 
Annual Register for 1809. 




MfalherScuZp? 



J 



HISTORY 



OF 



ANDREW HOFER 



Andrew Hofer was born on the 22d of No- 
vember, 17^7, at the village of St Leonhard, 
in the valley of Passeyr; # his mother's maiden 

* The Passeyrthal, or Pusterthal, appears from documents in 
possession of the counts of Eppan, in the early days of the 
Swabian Emperor, to have belonged to the ancient earls of 
Tyrol. Margaret Maultasch particularly favoured the inhabi- 
tants of this valley, and in the year 1363, a few days before 
the Tyrol became subject to Austria, gave them the right of 
pasture on both sides of the Etsch as far as Eisack, (from 
whence originated the famous trade in horses, which Hofer 
carried on, as his ancestors had done, with great success,) as 
well as the privilege of carrying salt, venison, and wine, over 
the Gaufen j forbidding them, at the same time, to be either 
molested or imprisoned within the limits of the bishopric 
of Trent and Brixen. 

The valley itself is peculiarly romantic, and has been not 

B 




l'!,l.h.,h.;i ,u lhs.1,1 ,l,r t ;-t.. Juh ■Hi'" ,8:„fa John 



HISTORY 



OF 



ANDREW HOFER 



Andrew Hofer was born on the 22d of No- 
vember, 1767, at the village of St Leonhard, 
in the valley of Passeyr;* his mother's maiden 

* The Passeyrthal, or Pusterthal, appears from documents in 
possession of the counts of Eppan, in the early days of the 
Swabian Emperor, to have belonged to the ancient earls of 
Tyrol. Margaret Maultasch particularly favoured the inhabi- 
tants of this valley, and in the year 1363, a few days before 
the Tyrol became subject to Austria, gave them the right of 
pasture on both sides of the Etsch as far as Eisack, (from 
whence originated the famous trade in horses, which Hofer 
carried on, as his ancestors had done, with great success,) as 
well as the privilege of carrying salt, venison, and wine, over 
the Gaufen j forbidding them, at the same time, to be either 
molested or imprisoned within the limits of the bishopric 
of Trent and Brixen. 

The valley itself is peculiarly romantic, and has been not 

B 



2 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

name was Maria Aignetleiterin ; his father, 
Joseph Hofer, kept an inn as his ancestors had 
done for time immemorial. 

Hofer was in his forty-seventh year when the 
insurrection first broke out in the Tyrol; he 
was of Herculean make, with black eyes and 
brown hair — he stooped considerably, having 
been accustomed from his youth to carry heavy 
burthens over the mountains — -in his ordinary 
walk his knees were bent, but his step though 
slow was firm — his voice was soft and pleasing 
— his countenance, though not generally ani- 
mated, was expressive of great good-humour, 
particularly when he smiled ; when he prayed, 
his eyes were raised to heaven with the humility 
and resignation of a Christian. 

His education* was superior to that of the 

improperly called by Baron Hormayr the Tyrolean Swisser- 
land ; it extends from Lienz to Mulbach, a space of nearly ten 
miles 5 the lower part is fruitful in corn,, but is made so by 
incredible labour and industry. Its inhabitants, like all moun- 
taineers, are hardy, powerful and energetic, but not free from 
mistrust and superstition ; remote from frequented cities, they 
have no opportunities of acquiring new ideas, but they cherish 
with greater fondness those which they have received by inhe- 
ritance from their forefathers. 

* As a proof that he was not deficient in knowledge, it may 
be remarked, that he was one of the Tyrolese representatives 
in the Diet of 1790, when the deputies of the Passeyrthal were 
not a little distinguished. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 3 

generality of people in his station of life ; and 
from his frequent intercourse with travellers, 
as well as from the traffic which he carried on 
in wine and horses, he had acquired a competent 
knowledge of the Italian language which he 
spoke fluently, but in the Venetian dialect; 
he was popular through the whole country for 
his integrity, his unaffected religion, his attach- 
ment to ancient customs, and his dislike of all 
innovation. 

He wore the dress of his country, with some 
trifling variation, — a large black hat with a broad 
brim, adorned with black ribbons, and a black 
curling feather — a short green coat, red waist- 
coat over which were green braces, a broad 
black girdle w r ith a border — : short black breeches 
with red or black stockings, and occasionally 
boots; he wore a small crucifix with a large 
silver medal of St. George — to which were after- 
wards added a large gold medal and chain sent 
him by the Emperor ; it is not true that he ever 
received the cross of Maria Theresa, or obtained 
any rank in the Austrian army. 

But that which was most remarkable in the 
appearance of Hofer was his long black beard 
which reached to his girdle, aad which, particu- 
larly when he rode on horseback, had an extra- 
brdinary effect. It had been an ancient custom 

b 2 



4 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

for the innkeepers in these vallies to allow their 
beards to grow; but Hofer had been principally 
induced to cherish his in consequence of a wager 
of two oxen which he had made with some of 
his friends. 

In his disposition he was phlegmatic, fond of 
ease and tranquillity, averse from every new 
and rash proceeding, and only to be roused to 
action by his respect for the ancient customs of 
his native country. He was cheerful and good 
tempered, slow in decision, confined in his in- 
formation, confused in his projects, superstitious 
like the rest of his countrymen, and accessible 
to the grossest flattery ; his head, indeed, was 
turned by his unexpected good fortune in being 
raised to a rank for which his own talents had 
not qualified him. He was easily urged to 
strong measures, the performance of which, 
however, was usually prevented by the natural 
mildness of his disposition ; and when his na- 
tional pride or patriotism was roused, the un- 
affected manner in which he expressed himself 
appealed most powerfully to the feelings of his 
hearers. He was wholly destitute of dissimu- 
lation ; and generally convinced by the last 
speaker, especially when he had found the wav 
to his heart. The mention of a victory gained 
by Austria, or in the cause of his native country — 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 5 

an allusion to the old times of the Tyrol— an 
enthusiastic word in favour of the sacred person 
of the Emperor, or of the Archduke John, so dear 
to every Tyrolean — were' appeals which had too 
powerful an effect on the feelings of Hofer; and 
he, who, according to the testimony of those who 
attended him, conducted himself in his last mo- 
ments " come un eroe Cristiano e martire intre- 
pido," was Tor some time bathed in tears and 
unable to utter a word. 

In personal courage Hofer was certainly not 
deficient, he has sufficiently proved it by the 
manner in which he exposed himself for the 
sake of his country ; but though it may appear 
incredible it is a well known fact, that he 
never was in action but once during the whole 
of 1809, but was usually to be found (even 
during the two decisive battles near Innspruck, 
on the 29th May, and the 12th of August) 
carousing in a public house. He was incapa- 
ble of directing a march, attack, or indeed any 
disposition of his troops, although much might 
naturally have been expected from the complete 
knowledge which he possessed of the country ; 
and, in allusion to the superstitious weakness 
of his character, he has been described leading 
his troops with a rosary in one hand, and a bottle, 
in the other. 

B3 



6 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

He had a great antipathy to night watching, 
and was particularly annoyed when business 
interrupted his conviviality. With Hormayr, 
(who was always actively employed, who de- 
voted even his nights to business, and was never 
at rest until he had possessed himself of the 
most advantageous posts) Hofer was constantly 
at variance. Once, indeed, he had nearly paid 
dear for his devotion to the bottle. In the be- 
ginning of August, General Rouyer advanced 
with the Saxon contingent to Sterzing, and had 
already possessed himself of Gossensass, where 
Hofer had dined and was still sitting at table, 
before he could be prevailed on to move ; till at 
last when part of the town was blown up, he 
was obliged to make a precipitate retreat from 
the back of the house without his hat, and with 
the greatest difficulty escaped by the Gasteig 
to Passeyr. 

It will naturally be asked how, with these 
defects, Hofer could have acted the conspicuous 
part he did, or how he was able to obtain so 
completely the confidence of his countrymen? 
His having been chosen as deputy from his native 
valley to the Archduke John at Brunecken, in 
November, 1805; his journey to Vienna in 
January, 1809; the favour shown him in his 
conferences with the prince on that occasion, 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 7 

and his early success against the Bavarians, 
when he defeated a strong body of troops at 
Sterzinger Moos ; had excited much attention, 
and the Tyrolese already looked upon him as a 
man of consequence ; but, for his elevation, he 
had certainly to thank Hormayr, who had been 
induced to select him as a leader, on account of 
his mild disposition and the honesty of his 
character; for at such a moment it was neces- 
sary that the enthusiasm of the people should 
be guided by chiefs chosen from amongst them- 
selves, whose views were free from suspicion, 
and whose integrity could be relied on. To 
this end was Hofer chosen, and Hormayr could 
not have made a better choice ; for although his 
head was not strong enough to bear his excess 
of good fortune, he was never known to abuse 
the powers he was entrusted with ; he became 
the terror of his enemies, and the idol of his 
countrymen. The name of Hofer cannot be 
mentioned in the Tyrol to this day without 
tears of affection, and his deeds will be long 
remembered there with enthusiastic admira- 
tion. 

The principal rival of Hofer in this glorious 
struggle, was Martin Teimer; he was Hofer's 
superior in talents and understanding, but never 
attained to that degree of popularity which he 

b 4 



8 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

enjoyed. He was born on the 14th of August, 
1778, at Schlanders in the Vintschgaw, he was 
of the middle stature, and stooped a little — his 
countenance was bold and prepossessing, but 
expressive of great cunning, his forehead and 
chin prominent, his nose marked and handsome, 
and his eyes blue and piercing. When the 
Tyrol, which had enjoyed a peace of ninety-three 
years, was disturbed by Buonaparte in 179$, 
Teimer served in the militia, and raised himself 
from the rank of private soldier to that of Major, 
and on several occasions considerably distin- 
guished himself; particularly at Fay and Zam- 
bana under Major General Baron Loudon, as 
well as at Botzen and the Castle of Maultasch, 
and in April 1799, at Scharlerjoch, in the memo- 
rable advance of F. M. Count Bellegarde to 
Engadein. In 1805 he was made captain of the 
newly organized militia in the Tyrol; and 
during the peace of 1806 kept a tobacco shop 
at Clagenfurt. His disposition, like Hofer's, was 
phlegmatic, and he was equally fond of ease and 
conviviality : — they were naturally jealous of 
each other, and in many instances, where, per- 
haps, unanimity might have been of essential 
service to the cause in which they were both 
engaged, their jealousy is said to have prevented 
the execution of several plans, which, had they 



HISTORY OF HOFER. ( $ 

been completed, might eventually have added 
to their mutual glory. The old proverb,* " Es 
1st nicht immer das nemliche, wenn zwey das 
nemliche thun !" has been applied to them. 

In the middle of March, 1809, F- M. Chas- 
telar left Clagenfurt, and Teimer was appointed 
chief of the peasants in the Upper Innthal, with 
whom he advanced to Innspruck, and on the 
morning of the 13th April, 8000 French and 
Bavarian troops surrendered to him at the village 
of Wiltau ; for which he was afterwards rewarded 
with the title of Baron Von Wiltau, the rank 
of Major in the Austrian army, the cross of 
Maria Theresa and an estate. 

It is, indeed, upon the whole, wonderful that 
the plan which had been so ably devised for the 
insurrection, should never have been discovered, 
never betrayed, either intentionally or by acci- 
dent, before it actually took place. The secret, 
however, was nearly escaping more than once. 
Nossing of Botzen, who had accompanied Hofer 
to Vienna, talked about it very indiscreetly, and 
GrafT, the banker at Botzen, profiting by the 
insight he had by this means gained into the 
intended operations, turned it to his own profit. 
This man, principally on account of the pecu- 

. * " It is not always the same, when two do the same !'.' 



10 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

niary assistance he gave to the cause, was 
created Baron, and afterwards, though perhaps 
undeservedly, decorated with the cross of Maria 
Theresa. 

Towards the end of the month of March, Hor- 
mayr repaired to Gratz, where the Archduke 
John had his head-quarters, and from him re- 
ceived his final decision concerning the arrange- 
ments for the breaking out of the insurrection. 
From thence he hastened to F. M. Chastelar, 
who was at Clagenfurt, and had afterwards ano- 
ther interview w r ith the Archduke at Villach, 
after which the following proclamation was 
issued. 

" To arms Tyroleans ! to arms ! The hour of 
deliverance is at hand. The beloved Emperor 
Francis, who has been for a time separated from 
you, is again given to you, and calls upon you 
to arm in the most holy cause — a cause which 
has deprived him of hia best possessions, and 
which has threatened the Imperial House itself— 
a cause which after a long and treacherous peace 
stands forth like a rock in the deluge — the last, 
the only remaining defence of the liberty of 
Europe. 

" Now is the time either to draw your swords 
while Napoleon is occupied in another part of 
Europe in attempting to load the Spaniards with 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 1 I 

a foreign yoke, or to wait till he has accom- 
plished that project, and that he returns with 
renewed force against Austria, to crush that 
only remaining obstacle to his wish of universal 
power; has he not insolently announced this 
intention? has he not already called Joseph 
Buonaparte an Archduke of Austria and Count 
of Hapsburg ? 

" The choice is made ! look up to us. Every 
thing is already in motion ; that our resolution 
may be not only immediately but powerfully 
executed — look around, see the power and 
alacrity that are on all sides displayed for the 
common cause — and be faithful to Austria! 
Already has the Archduke Charles swept the 
plains of Amberg, Wurzburg, Ostrack and 
Stockack, where within the space of a few days 
he gained repeated victories over the chief com- 
manders of the enemy. — Already has he shown 
you on your frontiers the well known colours of 
black and gold.* You will see again at your 
head the beloved Archduke John, to whom 
every spot of ground from Scharnitz to Mon- 
tebaldo, and from Kreuzburg to Tonal, is known 
and endeared; whose greatest pride is to be 
yours entirely, and whose greatest pain is to be 
separated from you. 

* The colours of Austria. 



12 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

" It is impossible that a separation like that 
of 1805 can again take place — a separation so 
bitterly felt. — Now is the moment on which 
depends the preservation or the complete des- 
truction of the imperial dominions. — On the 
Tyrolese Alps, called by Maximilian I. and 
; Charles the V. the shield and heart of Austria, 
have the ancient princes of our House built their 
hopes. There also we build our own. 

" The unlucky peace of Presburg (read it, 
brethren, and see if you can discover one article 
that France and her confederates have not broken 
and despised) has broken the link that connected 
the Tyrol with Austria during the space of 443 
years. The Tyrol was surrendered, but not 
abandoned to the lawless will of an irritated 
conqueror, or to the mercy of a heartless master ; 
— no, even in this painful moment we gloried 
in ' your ancient fidelity to Austria ;' our care 
was to prevent all division and distribution of 
lands, and to secure the ancient rights of your 
constitution and country. 

" With the reserve of all her ancient rights 
and liberty, the Tyrol became in 1363 the pro- 
perty of Austria. This contract between the 
princes of Austria and the people of the Tyrol 
has been rendered sacred by innumerable cir- 
cumstances and agreements. 

" Under the same restrictions, and with the 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 13 

same rights and titles only, did the Emperor 
surrender the Tyrol ; and these stipulations were 
made in the 8th article of the peace of P res- 
burg. This last care for his departing lands 
(since he received the signed treaty at Holitsch, 
on the 29th of December, 1805) has been the 
only solace of his tedious hours. 

" The Royal Bavarian proclamation of the 
14th January, 1806, declared that ' the Tyro- 
lese should not only retain their ancient rights 
and liberty, but that their welfare should be 
promoted in every possible manner, and that 
their wishes should be listened to with the 
greatest attention. 

" Many times were the words which the 
king himself addressed to the deputies repeated, 
and even printed, that " no iota of the consti- 
tution should be changed" — that he honoured the 
grief which the Tyrolese expressed for the loss 
of their ancient masters, but that he hoped by 
his constant care and attention to their wishes 
to make himself equally regretted by them. 

" How your honest hearts rejoiced at this 
royal promise on the conclusion of the peace, 
and yet at the end of a few months where was 
your constitution? — your rights or your liberty ? 
Where was the promised attention to your wel- 
fare? — these liberties so bravely defended; 



14 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

those possessions which had been the rewards 
of your fidelity, and which had for centuries 
remained unpolluted, and undisturbed ; the 
decrees of our public Diet, or the more limited 
assembly of our fathers ? Where are your brothers 
and countrymen — what is become of them ? — 
despised and neglected they have been forgotten 
by your oppressors, but from your memory they 
can never be obliterated ! Clergymen, ministers 
of altars, you have been the first objects of their 
fierce attack. This was their plan, and alas, 
what has been the result? — When a whole 
nation has been deprived of its liberty and its 
name, when its courage and magnanimity give 
way to a tame indifference and servile submis- 
sion, can there be found a better moment to 
strike the blow and crush it at once and for ever ; 
— this was their idea. 

" But God be praised they have been de- 
ceived, they are yet ignorant of any internal 
revolt ; if without assistance they should ven- 
ture to oppose the power of the mountaineers 
they would only augment the evil. The Tyro- 
lese have beheld with bitter feelings their 
abbeys and monasteries destroyed, the property 
of their churches stolen and carried away, their 
bishops and priests exiled, their churches pro- 
faned, and their chalices sold to Jews. They see 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 15 

the Bavarians, and their yet more contemptible 
colleagues, still eager to continue their work of 
destruction and careless of the consequences. 

" A higher power has withheld the just anger 
of the Tyrolese until they were ripe for ven- 
geance — until the hour of deliverance was come. 
— It is now come ! — Now is the time for vou — - 
for your clergy first to come forward to revenge 
the indignities offered to the house of the Lord, 
and to pour forth your vengeance from the 
pulpit and the altar ; lay your hands upon your 
hearts, and say, is it not a holy cause for which 
we exhort you to rouse yourselves ? Is it not 
the cause of faith— the cause of liberty ? Even 
Buonaparte himself knows your power and 
spirit; even he (who keeps the Holy chief of 
the church in severe and painful imprisonment, 
and who is indefatigably employed in all parts 
of the world,) acknowledges it ; he has expe- 
rienced and knows what a war with an irritated 
and courageous people is, and trembles at it. 
He will soon forbid the use of the Scripture and 
the Talmud in Europe, and replace them by the 
Alcoran of Egypt, with which he may sin on 
unpunished. The family of Antiochus is not 
extinct. 

" Your knights and nobles, who, before the 
institution of the tributary law, were all our 



16 HISTORY OF HOFER.' 

equals, who were the gem of that once honour- 
able constitution, who were never a source of 
expense to their country or desired more than 
an honourable name, are all destroyed. Even 
there the Bavarians env}- and wish you to prove 
your title to a nobility which has endured for 
more than a century, wish to institute a new- 
one as if nothing was valid but what came from 
them, and as if they could create a patent of 
nobility which is of so old a date. 

" Your cities and your courts of justice ! in- 
dustrious citizens and tradespeople ! — pious, 
honest peasants ! — w T hat is become of you whose 
interests have been sacrificed, and whose com- 
merce with Italy has been destroyed ; and you 
whose brothers and sons were accustomed to 
cultivate your vines and till your fields, who, 
now subject to the conscription, are hurried, 
away to fight against Austria, your ancient 
and lawful master, or to Spain, or against 
Russia, or Prussia, where your German brethren 
have already spilt so much blood, and whose 
only reward has been scorn and contempt. 

" The Bavarians have despised the bank bills 
of Austria ; but without them they cannot find 
credit ; they have rid you of this evil with the 
loss of half your property, occasioned by the 
scarcity of money — have imposed heavy taxes 



HISTORY OF HOFER 17 

upon you, and have no mercy upon those who 
were unable to pay them. — On this account 
many oppressed landholders have been com- 
pelled to quit their homes and the lands which 
they had cultivated, and earn a subsistence as 
day labourers, or reduced to depend on the gene- 
rosity of those who were able to assist them ; 
but from this moment the Austrian notes shall 
not be chargeable to you, which is a proof of 
what Austria hopes from you, and of what she is 
ready to sacrifice to replace so noble a pearl in 
the imperial crown. 

" Tyroleans ! Tyroleans ! how can you brook 
the loss of a name to which you once clung so 
firmly. After the destruction of all your rights 
and laws, your name, once so glorious, so highly 
prized, is taken from you, as if you had commit- 
some heinous crime, and that they wished thus 
to punish it, that, for ages to come, your children 
might recollect the crimes of their fathers. 

" The Tyrol is now divided and called by 
the names of the rivers, whose waters are as des- 
titute of colour and taste, as you are of life and 
spirit to oppose the treatment you have met 
with. 

" Compare with this wretched state — without 
constitution, without power, without liberty, 
and without a name, the former prosperity you 

c 



18 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

enjoyed under the princes of Austria — recollect 
the constitution formed by Frederick II. — the 
warm attachment of the great Maximilian — the 
attention of Charles V. — the anxiety for your 
welfare shown by the Archduke Ferdinand and 
Maximilian, Master of the Teutonic Order. Re- 
collect that vigorous defence of your possessions 
at Claudia against the French, the Swedes, and 
the malcontents. — Were the Bavarians more ir- 
resistible at Strub and Iglau than in the ever 
memorable year, 1703, when the victorious Max. 
Emanuel commanded in our vallies ? Are Na- 
poleon's Generals greater heroes than Catinat 
and Vendome, whose glory in those days re- 
sounded through our mountains ? Ask your 
fathers how the great Theresa defended her 
rights against half of Europe. Do you recol- 
lect the deeds of Joseph himself and the dangers 
he has withstood under France, under the protec- 
tion of Austria, which have served to perpetuate 
his glory. 

" When you recollect all this — when you re- 
collect the treacherous conduct of the Bavarians, 
in not adhering to the conditions of the Treaty, 
and the manner in which they broke all the pro- 
mises they had made — when you recollect that 
you have never taken the oath of allegiance to 
them— you will have no other thought, and your 



HISTORY OF HOFER 19 

tongue will alone be able to pronounce the word 
' Deliverance.'" 

Besides this proclamation, the following is an 
extract from one, which, though much shorter, 
was infinitely more popular. 

" Well, then, be brave, be unanimous — it is 
necessary for the redemption of your country. 
Powder and shot shall be the food of your ene- 
mies ; they will find a surer way to their hearts 
than your prayers or your misfortunes have. 
We will oppose them with arms and the ancient 
Tyrolese courage. Every thing else may the 
enemy plunder — we promise you compensation 
and vengeance for it. He is a traitor and a 
coward who deserts to their standard. In the 
fields, the forests and the mountains which God 
hath given you — where your children have 
sought refuge from oppression, we, your saviours, 
are at hand to receive you with open arms, and 
to bring you in a few days back to your homes. 
Take care that you are prepared, as the Austrians 
are within your frontiers — but be cautious and 
let not idle reports deceive you. Brave not 
openly the power of your enemies, but let them 
not gain the heights ; there you must remain 
masters, to keep them day and night in perpetual 
anxiety and to harrass them by constant skir- 
mishes. Cut off all their communications, that, 

c 2 



20 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

deprived of provisions and intelligence, they may 
become alarmed and fly before you. As soon as 
you see the Austrians at your frontiers, announce 
the joyous intelligence throughout the whole 
country by beacon fires and alarm bells. Young 
and old to arms! for the Emperor and your 
native country — for your liberty and welfare — 
your deliverance." 

The following proclamation of the Archduke 
John made an extraordinary impression : — 

" Tyroleans ! I am come to keep the promise 
I made on the 4th November, 1 805 — that the 
time would certainly come when I should have 
the joy of again finding myself amongst you. 

" Recollect the promises which you made me 
when I took leave of your deputies atBrunecken, 
which we were then not able to put in execu- 
tion, not from your fault or mine, but on account 
of the unprecedented misfortunes that befel us — 
The peace of Presburg was the cause of all these 
disasters — it broke the tie which had connected 
you with Austria for five hundred years — but 
even then the Tyrol would not be separated from 
the Government of Austria, although the new 
kingdom of Bavaria was desirous to augment its 
power by the acquisition of so valuable a pos- 
session. — Even the father of your country recol- 
lected his beloved children, with the greatest 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 21 

affection and with the ancient fidelity of Austria 
He stipulated that the Tyrol should remain un- 
divided — that it should retain all its rights and 
liberties, its constitution, its tributary law — in a 
word, 

" That, in the same manner and with the same 
rights and titles with which the Emperor had 
possessed it, it should be made over to Bavaria, 
and not otherwise. 

" These were the stipulations made — these 
which the faithful deputies urged in the most 
touching manner to my brother the Emperor in 
their audience of the 14th of December, 1806 — 
and the Emperor felt assured at the solemn and 
public manner in which his conditions were ac- 
knowledged by Bavaria, which their deputies 
confirmed. 

" The conditions of the surrender were deli- 
vered at Innspruck on the 10th April, 1806, and 
the treaty was made public in the beginning of 
June, without answering, however, any of your 
demands, which were avoided under various fri- 
volous pretences, in a manner not only unfriendly 
but actually cruel, that they might not witness the 
continued violation of the treaty, which, instead of 
preserving, served only to banish from the Ty- 
rolese all recollection of their former prosperity, 

e S 



22 History of hofer. 

" This article of the peace of Presburg the 
Bavarians have kept as they have kept all others. 
How the Emperor has permitted his honest peo- 
ple to maintain this peace all the world knows, 
and our enemies know better than any body. 

" The Imperial Court must and will lay its 
just and numberless complaints before the tri- 
bunal of the world. It will justify its patience 
and long forbearance, and to avoid the last over- 
whelming stroke, it will struggle for its defence. 

" Why is the war a holy one ? Why is it ne- 
cessary, and ought to be general ? Why is it car- 
ried on ? — Because so great a power cannot be 
opposed alone, and therefore every body ought 
to be unanimous and assist the cause — because 
the restoration of ris-hts and libertv is to be 
gained if attempted — because neither Germans 
nor Hungarians, nor Bohemians ought to be 
obliged to sacrifice their own honour and prospe- 
rity, or to spill their blood as the blind instru- 
ments of an avaricious government, to be forced 
against their will to invade Russia or Turkey, 
or to conquer the less powerful kingdoms of the 
world. For these reasons it ought to be car- 
ried on. 

" The ultimate object of our cause is of the 
greatest importance, therefore let our courage 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 23 

and strength be great. The danger of the brave 
is always less than that of the coward — it is not 
the pursuer but the fugitive that falls. 

" We have an enemy to oppose whose power 
until this day nothing has been able to withstand ; 
it has been every where victorious where it has 
not found unanimity, indefatigable ardour, and 
firm perseverance to oppose it — with these, no- 
thing is impossible. We possess this firmness 
and courage ; the same feeling pervades every 
mind. Every thing is prepared for war, and 
those who are unable to carry arms assist us w T ith 
their good advice. 

" Austria has sustained many dangers, and has 
been victorious, the present is the greatest of 
them all ; but there was never such unanimity, 
such ardour in every heart. Austria is at hand 
with a great power. Their courage is doubled 
by the presence of the Emperor himself— at their 
head stands the conqueror of Wurzburg and 
Stockack, who is known and loved by every 
German, and in whom they place the greatest 
confidence. 

" In a moment of such consequence to our 
faithful combined power, in the midst of the ar- 
dour for the holiest cause for which sword was 
ever drawn, I plant the Austrian eagle in the 

c 4 



£4 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

earth of the Tyrol, in which so many of my glo- 
rious ancestors repose. 

" In this eventful moment, when the ancient 
prosperity of the Hapsburgs is returning to us, 
I recall, as Duke Ferdinand did, 933 years 
ago, the nobles, the prelates, the citizens, and 
the peasants to the foot of that throne, which to 
them has always been a place of solace and as- 
sistance. 

" The dispositions which the present situation 
of affairs demands, are stated in a public order 
issued by me. Arms, and the old Tyrolese cou- 
rage, to gain the restitution of your rights is all 
you desire, instead of misery and oppression ; and 
your honour as well as your welfare requires it. 

" This proclamation will bring back to you 
the recollection of those days when twelve years 
ago the enemy under Joubert was by your cou- 
rage defeated at Spinges, Jenesien, and Botzen, 
and obliged to fly the country. This moment 
enables you to play the principal part in the 
holy cause ; and would it be possible, Tyroleans, 
for you not to wish to do so. 

" Tyroleans ! I know you ; I am no stranger 
to your vallies or mountains — I am confident 
that you will realize the hopes of your fathers 
and our highest expectations. 

" Archduke John." 






HISTORY OF HOFEll. 25 

It would be difficult to describe the impres- 
sion which this and other proclamations of a 
similar kind made on the minds of the enthu- 
siastic Tyrolese. Their ardour seemed to re- 
double, and thousands flocked to the standards 
of their patriotic chiefs, determined to conquer 
or to die in the holy cause. 

The night* of the 8th of April was fixed for 
the event on which depended the destiny of the 
Tyrol. It was a dark gloomy night, but to- 
wards morning the weather cleared up, and pro- 
mised a fine day. Chastelar and Hormayr 
passed an anxious night in riding through the 
troops, to give the necessary orders for the in- 
tended movements, and to see that every thing 
was in a state of preparation. The stillness of 
the night was alone broken by the heavy tread 
of the advancing troops, the rattling of the ammu- 
nition waggons and great guns, and the cheer- 
ful voices of the bivouacers. 

At three o'clock in the morning the ad- 
vanced guard, under the command of Lieutenant 
Colonel Goldlin of the chasseurs, was in motion. 
Chastelar and Hormayr then harangued their 
followers, and encouraged the ardour and eager- 

* The signal was given by throwing saw-dust into the Inn, 
which floated down, and was soon discovered and understood by 
the peasants. 



26 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

ness with which they seemed to prepare for their 
duties ; and in a few hours, to the great joy of 
the Tyrolese, the thunder of distant guns and 
the tumultuous din of alarm bells resounded 
through the vallies. 

In the mean time, Chastelar with his division 
advanced up the the Drauthal, and F. M. Jella- 
chich, who was in Salzburg, commanded Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Baron Taxis to advance from 
Oberpinzgau and Zillerthal up the Innthal to 
Innspruck, with a detachment of chasseurs, and 
of the Oreilly light horse, in order to join Chas- 
telar over the mountains. At break of day, in- 
numerable fires were discovered on the heights, 
signals to the people that the work of deliver- 
ance was begun— they were in a moment un- 
derstood, and the whole country was in a state 
of insurrection from one end to the other. 

The Bavarian troops overcome with astonish- 
ment at the suddenness of the event, knew not 
which way to turn : every thing was in a state 
of hurry and tumult. A column of French troops, 
three thousand strong, who were on their march 
from Mantua to Augsburg, were taken by sur- 
prise and panic struck, and after a short but de- 
termined resistance, were entirely defeated by 
the peasants, and captured, together with all 
their colours, eagles and guns. 






HISTORY OF HOFER. 27 

Hofer and Teimer were in the mean time 
in the valley of Passeyr. During the night of 
the 8th of April, the following order was issued 
by them to be distributed amongst the confede- 
rates : — 

PUBLIC ORDER. 

" On the 9th of April, General Hiler ad- 
vanced by forced marches from Salzburg into 
the Oberinnthal, and F. M. General Chastelar 
from Carinthia to the Pusterthal. On the 1 1 th 
or 12th the former will arrive at Innspruck and 
the latter at Brixen. 

The Mulbach Clause will, by order of his 
Royal Highness the Archduke John, be occu- 
pied by the Pusterthal peasants, and the Kun- 
tersweg by the Rittnern, that all those which 
march out of Botzen and Brixen may be headed, 
and that we may be possessed of the strongest 
and most important position before the Bava- 
rians fly from Brixen to Botzen, then nothing 
will be able to pass. Kolbe, by order of the 
Archduke, is to command at Kuntersweg and 
to take care of such prisoners as may fall into 
his hands, and to protect the persons and papers 
of those Bavarian officers who have been distin- 
guished for their inveteracv against the Austrian 
government and the Tyrol, from all injury and 



28 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

ill treatment ; but on no pretence whatever to 
allow them to proceed from Kitten to Botzen. 
The pay of the men will be increased as soon 
as the Archduke John and General Chastelar 
arrive, and the officers will receive their pay, 
as well at Kaltern and throughout that district, 
as at Salurn and Neumarkt. At Kaltern, Joseph 
Morandel is chosen commander by the Arch- 
duke, and has received orders what to do. Count 
Arzt commands at Nonsburg, and Baron Hor- 
mayr is Commissary General. 

" Given at Sand, in Passeyr, on the 9th of 
April, 1809. 

" Martin Teimer. 

" Andrew Hofer, Publican.' 1 

After the publication of this order, Teimer 
hastened over the mountains to Oberinnthal, in 
order to assist the Austrian troops that were en- 
tering in that quarter, and to cut off the com- 
munications of the Bavarians ; and Hofer, with 
from 4 to 5,000 men, consisting of peasants from 
the valley of Passeyr, Algund, Meran, &c. who 
increased in numbers as he went, advanced over 
the Gaufen to Sterzing, to meet the enemy from 
Brixen. 

The 8th division of the Austrian army, which 
was to assist the operations of the Tyrolese under 



HISTORY Of HOFER. %Q 

the command of F. M. General Chastelar, con- 
sisted of three battalions of Hohenlohe and Bar- 
tenstein infantry, three of Lusignan, one batta- 
lion of the 9th Chasseurs, three squadrons of 
Hohenzollern light horse, together ivith the 
country militia, consisting of three battalions from 
Clagenfurt, two from Villach, two from Juden- 
burg, and two from Bruck; forming in the whole 
sixteen battalions of foot and three squadrons of 
horse. This force, however, Avas very deficient 
in cavalry, and to that deficiency may be attri- 
buted its frequent failure. 

The advance of Chastelar and Hormayr 
through the Pusterthal resembled rather the 
triumph of a victorious army than the march of 
one about to meet its enemies. They were 
every where received with enthusiastic demon- 
strations of joy — the village bells rang as they 
passed, and men, women, and children of all ages 
flocked in crowds to greet and cheer them by their 
acclamations. Mothers brought their children 
to look at them, and blind old men were led out 
of their cottages that they might hear, and bless 
their gallant countrymen. All endeavoured to 
get near, that they might shake hands with 
them, touch their clothes, or even kiss their 
horses. 

Between Lienz and Sillian, on the evening of 



30 HISTORY OF HOPER. 

the 10th of April, they received news of the 
attempt of the Bavarians on the bridge of St* 
Lorenzen near Bmnecken, which had com- 
pelled the Tyrolese to commence hostilities there 
six-and-thirty hours sooner than was originally 
intended. Wrede and Donnersberg had ad- 
vanced with a squadron of dragoons, two batta- 
lions of light infantry, and three guns, from 
Brixen, with a view to quell the insurrection, 
and by destroying the bridges to delay the ad- 
vance of the Austrians, On the arrival of this 
intelligence the advanced guard was ordered, in 
the greatest hurry, to hasten forward with a 
detachment of chasseurs and light infantry to 
the assistance of the Tyrolese. Chastelar and 
Hormayr put themselves at the head of the 
Hohenzollern light horse and set off at a full trot 
to the Mulbacher Clause and the heights of 
Schabs, which was the centre of military opera- 
tions in the Tyrol. 

A strong detachment of the French column 
we have before mentioned, had joined the Ba- 
varians, and had taken their position in the 
Eisackthal on the main road between Brixen 
Clause and the bridge of Laditch.* At the 

* The bridge of Laditch was formed of a single arch, sus- 
pended between two tremendous rocks, over the road from Inn- 
spruck to Italy and the Pusterthal — in old times criminals Were 
executed here, ad pontem pendentem. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 31 

beginning of the action with the Tyrolese they 
attempted to break their line by a continued 
fire, but for some time met with no success ; the 
Tyrolese stood their ground firmly in spite of 
repeated and violent attacks.— Towards evening, 
however, the French were reinforced by about 
1000 foot and 600 horse, and then only the 
Tyrolese, overpowered by numbers, began to 
give way. 

At this critical moment Lieutenant Colonel 
Gerarhdi appeared on the heights of Schabs 
with seventy of the Hohenzollern light horse 
and 200 chasseurs, who immediately charged 
the enemy, shouting as they charged. For some 
minutes the firing ceased — the Tyrolese broke 
out immediately into expressions of joy, some 
threw away their arms, some fell on their knees 
to return thanks, while others embraced the 
Austrians with tears in their eyes, calling them 
brothers. 

The Bavarians, who were astonished at the 
sudden and unexpected arrival of this reinforce- 
ment, retreated in the greatest disorder, and 
were pursued towards Sterzing with a consider- 
able loss of killed, wounded, and prisoners. 
General Lemoine with about 2,000 French fled 
in the opposite direction, towards Botzen, in 



32 JIISTORY OF HOFER. 

spite of General Bisson, who did all in his 
power to encourage and rally them, and was 
taken prisoner with all his men at Botzen. 

Hofer, with his Landsturm, appeared on the 
heights above Sterzing, in the night of the 10th 
of April, and would have hastened to the as- 
sistance of his countrymen at Brixen, but un- 
happily he was completely surrounded by the 
enemy. The Bavarians attacked him on the 
following morning, opening their fire upon his 
party on the plains of Sterzing Moos ; but the 
Tyrolese sharpshooters, who were sheltered by 
rocks, made dreadful havoc amongst them, and 
the artillery-men were several times shot away 
from their guns. At length the Tyrolese made 
a desperate charge, armed with spears, pitch- 
forks, and any implement of offence they could 
collect, rushed upon the Bavarians like a tor- 
rent ; while others, who were stationed on the 
heights, hurled huge masses of rocks and trees 
upon those beneath. After a desperate struggle 
which lasted for some time, the Bavarians gave 
way, and having lost several of their best offi- 
cers, and above 240 men killed and wounded, 
threw down their arms and surrendered. About 
580 prisoners were conducted, immediately after 
the action, to Baron Sternach's castle at Wolfs- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 33 

thrun, (a league distant from the field of battle), 
overhanging the main road from Sterzing.* 

Hofer at this moment received intelligence, 
that the French column, under the command of 
Generals Bisson and Lemoine, which had marched 
from Mantua, had joined the Bavarians near 
Brixen ; that the peasants had prevented the de- 
st^iction of the bridges of Laditch and St. 
Lorenzen, and that Chastelar had hastened up 
Pusterthal to their assistance ; orders were there- 
fore immediately issued for a pursuit, so that the 
peasants of the Innthal might attack them in 
the front at the same time that the peasants of 
the Whippthal attacked their rear. 

A detachment, with one squadron of Bavarian 
light dragoons, and some Barenklau infantry, 
under the command of Wrede and Donnersberg, 
began their march from Sterzing to Innspruck 
over the Stellenberg and Brenner, but were 
much harassed in the narrow pass of Lueg by 
the peasants, who had taken their stations among 
the surrounding rocks. Their progress was also 
constantly impeded by immense heaps of trees 
thrown across the road, by bridges broken down 

* During this action, a female peasant was seen in the thickest 
of the fight encouraging the men, and herself hurling stones at 
the enemy. 

D 



34 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

and destroyed. In the mean time they com- 
mitted every sort of excess during their march, 
plundering and maltreating every one they met; 
a conduct which did not produce the effect they 
intended — that of intimidating the peasants — 
but rather augmented that angry feeling which 
was already sufficiently strong, and gave a more 
decided character to their hatred of their op- 
pressors. 

During these proceedings the following letter 
from Chastelar was printed, and distributed 
throughout the country. 

" Brave Tyroleans ! I am already in the 
midst of you. My troops have taken up their 
position near Brixen and on the heights of 
Schabs, by which means all communication be- 
tween the enemy and Italy is prevented. I 
have, at the same time, dispatched a strong divi- 
sion of horse and foot, and a supply of ammunition, 
over the Brenner to your assistance. Another 
division has marched towards Botzen. Remain, 
therefore, for the present at your posts, that you 
may cover my flank. 

" The capital will probably by this time be in 
possession of the advanced troops of Field Mar- 
shal Jellachich's division from Salzburg. On 
the first news of your being engaged with the 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 35 

enemy, which I received when I was yet far 
from you, I hastened to your assistance, march- 
ing day and night. 

" My inarch from the borders of Carinthia, 
through Lienz to Brixen, has been performed 
without halting, which proves how your ardour 
and courage have inspired my troops, and how 
eagerly they desire to become brothers of the 
brave Tyrolese. 

" Your prisoners, who have witnessed your 
intrepidity, shall be pledges for your personal 
security, they shall suffer if the horrors which 
the Bavarians have committed within these few 
days at Mauls, Sterzing, and Gossensas, are re- 
peated. 

" These days will be perpetuated in the history 
of the Tyrol. Your names will be handed down 
to your posterity, and your children will glory 
in the deeds of their fathers. You will realize 
the high expectations which the beloved Arch- 
duke John has formed of you. 

"Tyroleans! trust me, as I trust you.— Per- 
severe and be courageous. In a few days the 
great work will be performed, and we shall have 
effected your deliverance ! ! 

" Marquis Chastelar, Field Marshal 

" Muhlbach, nth April, 1809." 

33 2 



36 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

From the enthusiasm displayed by the pea- 
sants, and the hatred which they manifested of 
the Bavarians, when the advanced guard of the 
Austrian army appeared before Brixen, it was 
feared they would commit some excess, and 
Hormayr immediately issued the following pro- 
clamation to tranquillize them. 

" Faithful Tyroleans ! so true to your religion 
and so attached to your native country, the 
greatest pride of my heart is to be your country- 
man, and the happiest moment of my life is that 
in which 1 am able to take a part in your deli- 
verance. 

" Yes, you have proved yourselves worthy to 
be free, you have proved that you deserve that 
constitution which existed while the Tyrol be- 
longed to Austria, but which has been despised 
and destroyed since the Emperor Francis has 
ceased to extend his sceptre over the beloved 

Tyrol. 

" You have proved yourselves worthy to be 

free, do not, therefore, give way to your indig- 
nation and become ungovernable, but act with 
unanimity and coolness, determined to die or 
to be free. 

" To injure the feeble is contemptible : — No 
Tyrolean will allow himself to be accused of 
such a deed — to follow the example of those 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 37 

who have nothing to lose, who molest and 
plunder the peaceful and inoffensive, would 
inevitably sow the seeds of discord and disunion 
amongst us and ruin our cause. 

" I know the deeds of your fathers, our rights 
and liberties — I have written the history of my 
native country, and I will try to merit a place 
in it myself; — but without discipline, order and 
obedience, nothing will prosper ; — I command 
you, in the name of the Emperor, to be tranquil, 
and will punish all those who disobey his orders. 
— In the name of the beloved Archduke John, 
in that of Chastelar, the brave leaders of the 
Austrian army, your saviours — I shall treat the 
first person who creates disturbance, or commits 
excesses, as an enemy to the country — his 
strength is to be used only in its defence." 

" Joseph Baron Hormayr, 
" Intendant of the Emperor." 
Brixen, \3th April, 1809. 

On the 10th of April the peasants of the 
Innthal rushed to arms. — The signal was given 
that all was ready for the commencement of 
hostilities, and women and children were em- 
ployed to carry about and distribute papers on 
which were written, " S'ist zeit."— It is time ! 

On the morning of the 1 1th, more than 20,00Q 
men were collected on the height above Inn- 

d 3 



38 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

spruck,andthe Bavarian piquets at Martinswand, 
Arams, Komaten and Berglsel, retreated towards 
the city ; — all the roads on which it was possible 
for the enemy to find an outlet were broken 
up, and barricades of trees piled across them. 
The bridges were destroyed, and every measure 
taken to prevent their escape. The enemy, 
meanwhile, placed guns on the two bridges of 
the Inn, and took up the most advantageous posi- 
tions of defence that could be found. 

Early in the morning of the same day the fire 
was opened with great violence, and a strong 
body of peasants, armed with muskets and long 
poles with bayonets fixed to them, possessed 
themselves of the bridge of Mohlauer. 

The Bavarians, who were stationed on the 
upper bridge of the Inn, could not withstand the 
impetuosity of the Tyrolese, and were speedily 
dislodged and killed at their guns before they 
had time to discharge them. The peasants 
rushed on, waving their hats and shouting 
" Long live the Emperor Francis — down with 
the Bavarians," and completely routed them. 
In the narrow part of the road to Hotting, many 
of the enemy were struck down by the butt- 
ends of muskets, while others were thrown over 
the bridge into the water and drowned ; all that 
could escape, retreated hastily into the city, 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 39 

where they were closely followed by the Tyro- 
lese who thronged in numbers through the 
gates. The city was garrisoned by the regi- 
ment of Kinkel, one squadron of cavalry and 
some detachments of light infant^. 

It was 9 o'clock in the morning ; — the tumult 
and confusion became general. — The Bavarians, 
who had stationed themselves on the tops of 
the houses and at the windows, could not with- 
stand the incessant irregular fire of the peasants, 
soon abandoned their posts, threw down their 
arms in the streets, and begged for mercy ; but 
in the last extremity many of them defended 
themselves with the greatest intrepidity, and 
those who were stationed at the barracks stood 
their ground to the last man. Colonel Dittfurt 
was everywhere encouraging, entreating, and 
menacing his men, in the same breath, and 
fighting in the most desperate manner, as if he 
thought every thing depended on the fate of 
the day. 

The Tyrolese were in possession of the house 
of the Commander in Chief (Kinkel) and were 
pressing him to surrender, when Dittfurt, who 
had already received two wounds in his body, 
came up and attacked them alone sword in hand 
— a third ball struck him in the breast, and as 
he sunk on his knees a stream of blood gushed 

d 4 



40 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

from his mouth; — as some peasants came to 
take him prisoner, he raised himself up, and 
called faintly to his men to come on and not to 
be cowards, when he received a fourth ball in 
his head and fell senseless. — A few minutes 
afterwards Lieutenant Colonel Spansky was 
shot dead from his horse at the corner of a street, 
and the main body of infantry threw down their 
arms. 

The cavalry, who, in the beginning of the 
fight, had done the most execution, were at 
length thrown into disorder. The Tyrolese, as 
soon as they saw them approaching, dispersed ; 
at the same time keeping up an irregular fire, 
which made dreadful havoc, without their being 
able to revenge it. — On the surrender of the 
infantry they were panic struck, and, finding 
none to support them, fled in all directions, re- 
gardless of the entreaties of their officers ; — some 
rode furiously about the streets not knowing 
which way to turn, while others stood motion- 
less, apparently disregarding their fate. — In this 
moment of confusion the Tyrolese rushed upon 
them, and forcing them with their pitch-forks 
to dismount, got upon their horses. 

This Dittfurt, supported by three other men, 
was supposed to have been the principal cause of 
separating the Tyrol from Austria. Hoffstetten 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 41 

and Wieg, Circle Directors, and Count Welsberg, 
Commissary General of Etsch Circle, were the 
persons alluded to. 

HofFstetten, the first of these, the Bava- 
rian agent in the Berctholdsgaden, had always 
been noted for the immorality of his life; — 
like the Parolles of Shakespeare, he was a mix- 
ture of vanity and ignorance, of real cowardice 
and affected bravery. He was known as 
Circle Captain of the district of Pusterthal, and 
in that capacity had gained universal hatred; 
he was entirely under the influence of an aban- 
doned woman who was the chief depository of 
all his secrets, and through whom the Austrian 
emissaries found it no difficult matter to pro- 
cure access to him. 

Wieg was a man of great spirit, prudence, 
and activity, and of acknowledged rectitude ; — ■ 
he was twice sent upon a secret mission to 
Vienna, in 1799 and 1805. This mission was 
ostensibly under the direction of the Baron 
Gravenreuth, who himself was merely an instru- 
ment of Comte d'Antraigues and the Swedish 
Ambassador, General Armfeldt, whose intrigues 
were the principal cause of that bad understand- 
ing between the Courts of Austria and Bavaria, 
which has -been attended with such disastrous 
consequences not only to Germany, but to the 



42 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

whole of Europe. — Wieg came to the Tyrol full 
of the ideas which he had acquired in this school, 
though not all congenial to the feelings of those 
simple minded peasants. 

Count Welsberg was not destitute of talents, 
but was without energy ; disappointed ambition 
seems to have been the principal motive for his 
conduct; he was of high rank, and had filled 
eminent stations, but failing in some object 
which he was anxious to carry, he refused from 
pique what was his due — what his ancestors had 
enjoyed before him, and what he would cer- 
tainly have obtained; — he broke off suddenly 
his negociations with the Court of Austria, and 
in a fit of anger and resentment, exerted all his 
faculties in opposition to it. 

Dittfurt, the fourth of these opponents of 
Austria, first distinguished himself in the val- 
ley of Fiemme (Fleims Thai), where the pea- 
sants first manifested a determination to resist 
the new system of recruiting at that time 
adopted. — Dittfurt, then Lieutenant Colonel, 
was sent against them in January 1809, with 
his troop; and in spite of the resistance of 
the civil commissary Riccabona, he committed 
excesses which increased instead of allaying the 
irritation of the people ; proud of an easy victory, 
he hastened with Wieg to Munich, where he was 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 43 

immediately promoted. — -He boasted publicly 
■ ' that with his regiment and two squadrons he 
could check the ragged mob." — This produced 
confidence at Munich ; in spite of which, how- 
ever, the Commander in Chief of the Bavarians 
gave orders, in the night of the 1 1th April, 1809, 
for active operations.* 

* Letter from General Kinkel to the Bavarian Lieutenant 
Colonel Wrede, at Brixen. 

' ' Since the arrival of the last letter of the Lieutenant Colonel, 
we have received an account of the carrying of the bridge of 
St. Lorenzen, which, however, appears not to have been as yet 
necessary, and, at all events, we think that a day on which the 
country people are usually accustomed to assemble was ill 
chosen for such an undertaking. 

' ' It is necessary that the post at Brunecken should be retaken, 
for the furtherance of Military operations, because by this 
means a situation will be possessed that will enable us to wit- 
ness the consequences of the Levee-en-masse of the hostile 
troops of peasants. The Lieutenant Colonel will, therefore, on 
the receipt of this letter, make such dispositions as will put him 
in possession of the post at Brunecken within twenty-four 
hours j— one, or, at most, two companies will be sufficient 
for such an undertaking. — To ensure the safe retreat of this 
detachment, it would be advisable to take up another position 
at Mulbach and Neustift, and a party must defend the Her- 
mitage at Mulbach. — As soon as the post at Brunecken is 
retaken, a strong patrol e must be sent forward to Jenichen, 
and even farther in advance if possible 5 — and to ensure the 
safe retreat of this patrole, after it has been absent a certain 
time, a second party had better be sent to meet it, which, if ne- 



44 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

In the action at Innspruck, here mentioned, 
Dittfurt saw that all that was left for him 
was to die gloriously, and he fought like a 
hero, till, covered with wounds, he was at length 
made prisoner by the very peasants whom he 
had so much despised; after lingering twelve 

cessary, must disengage the first. The roads from Mittewald 
to Schabs must, during these operations, be diligently patroled 
by the detachments stationed at Mittewald and Oberauj — and 
the Commissary General is required to publish a proclamation 
in my name, stating " that every peasant found with arms in 
his hands will be put to death instantaneously, as well as every 
one concerned in instigating the insurrection" — an order which 
the Lieutenant Colonel will know how to put in execution : — 
he is to take care that this proclamation be promulgated, and 
will endeavour to do it as speedily as possible. In case the 
Commissary General should not be competent to such a task, 
the Lieutenant Colonel will proclaim that the insurgents are 
considered as rebels to the military power, and consequently 
will be treated as such. 

" We do not expect that the patroles already mentioned will 
be made prisoners j should this, however, be the case, an im- 
mediate provision for their being restored must be made the 
first point in the proclamation. 

' ' The capture of Brunecken does not, however, depend upon 
the publication of the proclamation, and the Lieutenant Colonel 
is to answer for the immediate capture of that post, which he 
ought never to have surrendered so hastily. 

" In the communication of the Lieutenant Colonel, nothing 
is mentioned concerning a sort of defence, or rather resistance, 
on the flank of the troops at Jenichen, which, until the com- 
manding officers themselves have explained it, will be considered 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 45 

days in a delirious fever he breathed his last. — 
F. M. Chastelar paid him every attention, and 
tried every possible means of alleviating his 
sufferings by kindness and care ; but Dittfurt 
was insensible to it all. and continued to rave 
about butchering peasants and the defence of 
Kufstein. — Once only he spoke to Chastelar, 
and then sarcastically said " if every one had 
behaved as I have, you would not have been 
here," alluding to General Kinkel who had 
commanded the Prussian fortifications in 1806. 
Dittfurt died unregretted ; for his character, 
and conduct were not calculated to gain esteem ; 
but as a soldier he was highly estimated, and 
his services merited the greatest praise. 

As Dittfurt lay half fainting from loss of 
blood in the guard house at Innspruck, sur- 
as a charge against them. Commanders of from twenty to forty 
men should not yield to a superior number of unskilful peasants, 
unless they can prove it to have been unavoidable ; but nothing 
of this is mentioned in the dispatch. 

" Innspruck, 11th April, 1809. 

" Sent at Ten o'clock at night 
tc from 
<c Lieutenant General Kinkel, 
" Commander in Chief." 



46 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

rounded by his disarmed companions, he asked 
" who had been the leader of the peasants," — ■ 
" No one," was the answer, " we fought equally 
for God, the Emperor, and our native country :" 
— " That is surprising," replied Dittfurt, " for 
I saw him frequently pass me on his white 
horse." 

This accidental and insignificant speech made 
the greatest impression upon the minds of the 
peasants, who are strongly addicted to super- 
stition, and from that moment they were con- 
vinced that St. James, the patron of the town 
of Innspruck, had fought with them.* 

At 1 1 o'clock Innspruck was in possession of 
the peasants, nearly the whole of the Bavarian 
troops being made prisoners, consisting of the 
Commander-in-Chief General Kinkel, with his 
regiment, one squadron of cavalry, four six- 
pounders, several ammunition waggons, all the 
baggage and provisions, and two colours. Ma- 
jor Teimer particularly distinguished himself on 
this occasion, having made prisoners with his 
own hand, Count Lodron, Commissary General 



* The Spaniards in their wars with the Moors, pretended 
that St. James was seen in several battles on a white horse 
defending their cause. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 47 

for the district of the Inn, and the French Colo- 
nel Constantin, whom Buonaparte had sent to 
Innspruck to watch the proceedings of the Ba- 
varians. 

A small party of cavalry, amongst whom was 
Count Erbach, had escaped out of Innspruck 
during the confusion, but they were pursued 
and taken prisoners by Joseph Speckbacher at 
a short distance from the town, together with the 
Bavarian piquet, at the bridge of Volders, who 
on the first alarm had taken refuge in a convent, 
but were soon dislodged by the Tyrolese, who 
burst open the gates by means of an immense 
fir tree, which was carried by fifty men, and used 
as a battering ram. 

The Tyrolese, after this decisive victory, were 
so elated that their joy knew no bounds, nothing 
was heard but shouts and rejoicings. The im- 
perial eagle was taken down from the tomb of 
Maximilian, decorated with red ribbons, and car- 
ried through the streets amidst the acclamations 
of the people, to the house of Baron Taxis, 
where it was fixed, and where the peasants 
flocked in crowds to kiss and look at it. The 
pictures of the Emperor and the Archduke John 
were placed on a sort of triumphal arch, sur- 
rounded by lighted candles, which were kept 



48 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

constantly burning, and every one that passed 
bent his knee before them, crying, " Long live 
the Emperor ! " 

These rejoicings, however, were not of long 
duration. The victorious peasants, who, over- 
come by the fatigues of the day, had fallen 
asleep in the streets, or in the orchards around 
the town, were suddenly awakened at 3 o'clock 
on the following morning, by the alarm bells of 
the city, and of all the adjacent villages. It was 
soon discovered that a strong column of Bava- 
rians and French were advancing towards Inn- 
spruck, and at 5 o'clock they appeared on the 
heights of Berg Isel. Lieutenant Margreiter, 
with a detachment of the advanced guard, was 
the first who attempted to enter the town; but 
he had scarcely passed the triumphal arch when 
he received a mortal wound in his breast, and 
fell' from- his horse. The gates were immedi- 
ately barricaded, with casks, waggons, and every 
thing that could be found for the purpose. The 
doors of all the houses were closed up, and every 
preparation was made to receive the enemy. 

In the mean time the combined troops of the 
enemy arranged themselves in order of battle, 
taking up two different positions. The French, 
under the command of Lieutenant General Bis- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 49 

son* occupied the ground between the Abbey 
of Wiltau and the village of that name. The 
Bavarians placed themselves to the left of the 
French on the ground between Wiltau and the 
river Inn. The French having the river Sill in 
their rear, and the Bavarians the rocks of Berg 
Isel, which were covered with Tyrolese sharp- 
shooters. Chastelar in the mean time had pushed 
on from Sterzing, and the detachment of Aus- 
trians from Salzburg was rapidly advancing up 
the Inn thai, so that the enemy found themselves 
completely surrounded and were far from being 
satisfied with their situation. 

Teimer had entered the city on the preceding- 
day, just before Dittfurt fell, and during these 
preparations he had an interview with his pri- 
soner General Kinkel, whom he compelled to 
write a letter to the enemy, begging them to 
send some confidential person into the town to 
whom he might explain the true state of afFairs. 
This letter, which was immediately dispatched, 
had the desired effect, and in a short time Colo- 
nel Wrede, accompanied by a French Colonel, 
entered the town. These were immediately 
attacked with such fury, that all who were able 
retreated in haste to the main army, but not be- 
fore they had lost 200 men ; while the Tyrolese, 

* Bisson had the command at Mantua when Hofer was shot. 

E 



50 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

during the three days constant fighting of the 
11th, 12th, and 13th, only lost in all 26 men, 
killed and wounded. 

Wrede and the French officer that accom- 
panied him were detained by order of Teimer, 
while the rest of the prisoners were allowed to 
return to the enemy. They on their return gave 
such an exaggerated account of the strength, as 
well as the fury of the Tyrolese, that the French 
were in the utmost consternation, and the Ba- 
varians were confounded by the loss of their 
commander, as well as alarmed at the news they 
heard. 

Teimer, accompanied by Baron Taxis and the 
brave Atzwanger, commander of the armed Bour- 
geois, together with several other chiefs of the 
peasantry, repaired soon after to the French 
lines. He found the French staff on a rising- 
ground near the village of Wiltau, next the 
chateau of Count Wolkenstein. General Bis- 
son received him courteously, affirmed that he 
intended no injury to the town, and merely de- 
manded that his troops might be permitted to 
march unmolested to Augsburg. He made no 
stipulation for the Bavarians. Teimer replied, 
that he would hear of nothing less than the sur- 
render of the whole army ; upon which Bisson 
answered, that he would rather sacrifice every 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 51 

man under his command than submit to such 
humiliation. Teimer did not deign to reply, 
but quitted him abruptly and returned to 
the Tyrolese, who immediately opened a fire 
upon the enemy, which made dreadful havoc 
amongst the French grenadiers, and they w r ere 
so alarmed at the shouts and impetuosity of the 
peasants, that they stood almost motionless, 
scarcely returning the fire which diminished 
their numbers at every moment. Seeing their 
desperate situation, the French officers used every 
means in their power to induce Bisson to sur- 
render on honourable terms to the Tyrolese, and 
recalled Teimer to arrange with him the con- 
ditions on which he would accept their submis- 
sion. Bisson, however, partly from a feeling of 
pride, and partly from the fear that such an act 
would bring down upon his head the wrath of 
his inexorable master, was for some time unwiL 
ling to sign the articles of surrender.* 

The following articles of surrender were 
signed by Teimer. t 

* It was the interest of Buonaparte to bury this unfortunate 
incident in oblivion, and Bisson, therefore, instead of sharing 
the fate of Dupont and Villeneuve, was afterwards appointed 
Governor of Mantua ; and the French and Bavarian forces were 
thus compelled to surrender to a rude, undisciplined peasantry, 
whom they had always affected to despise. 

f As a reward for his eminent services on this occasion, 
Teimer was created Baron Wiltau. 

E 2 



52 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

" In the name of Francis the First, Emperor 
of Austria, the French and Bavarian troops at 
Steinach and Wiltau agreed to the following 
conditions of surrender. 

1st. That the French and Bavarian army shall 
lay down their arms immediately. 

2dly. That the whole body of the 8th divi- 
sion of the army shall deliver themselves up to 
the Austrian troops at Schwaz. 

3dly. That all the Tyrolese who have been 
made prisoners by these troops be set free. 

4thly. That the officers of the French and 
Bavarian army shall be set free, with their 
swords, baggage, horses, and all other property 
untouched. 

Given by me, for his Royal Highness Arch- 
duke John, through his orders and direc- 
tions, at Innspruck, 13th of April, 1809, at 
half-past 8 in the forenoon. 

(L.S.) Martin Teimer, Major, 

and Authorized Commissary. 

Countersigned. 



Armance, 


BlNDE, 


Varin, 


DoNNERSBERG, 


Bisson, 


Capolle'. 


AlJRBE, 




Cap, 





HISTORY OF HOFER. 53 

Our admiration of the national character of 
the Tyrolese will certainly be augmented, when 
we reflect that so little blood was shed in an in- 
surrection in which every individual in the 
country was concerned, the cause and ultimate 
object of which was to drive from their terri- 
tories a foe who had treated them with every 
species of cruelty and oppression. It is scarcely 
possible to suppose, that, amongst such a mass of 
irritated people, some instances of individual 
cruelty would not be found. There were some 
who undoubtedly had not the due command of 
their passions, and in a moment of irritation and 
fury, they were guilty of excesses which did not 
add to the glory of the cause ; but these in- 
stances are few. The peasants conducted them- 
selves generally in a manner equally creditable 
to their leaders and themselves, their prisoners 
were treated universally with the greatest hu- 
manity and kindness, and instead of following 
the base example of the Bavarians, they seemed 
eager to show them every attention in, their 
power. And while the courage and intrepidity 
of the Tyrolese patriots will be remembered 
throughout Europe, for years to come, with en- 
thusiastic admiration, the humanity with which 
they treated their enemies will be honoured and 
respected. 

e 3 



54 * HISTORY OF HOFER. 

It was however universally reported, that the 
Tyrolese had murdered their prisoners in cold 
blood; and that, on the 13th of April, all the 
French and Bavarians who had surrendered 
themselves were massacred at the instigation 
of Chastelar. 

A calumny so vile and infamous is scarcely 
worth refutation, but nothing can be easier if it 
were necessary, than to prove its falsehood ; for 
the fact is, that on the 13th Chastelar was still 
at Brixen, and did not arrive at Innspruck until 
the prisoners had passed Schwaz, on their road 
to Salzburg, under a female escort, as the men 
could not be spared to guard them ; and had he 
been there, Chastelar (who was remarkable for 
the mildness and attention with which he treated 
his prisoners) would have shuddered at the idea 
of such a crime. But it was the object of Na- 
poleon to efface, if possible, the recollection of 
his unlucky defeat, by throwing the blame on 
the conduct of his enemies, and it mattered 
little to him, how base or infamous the means 
were to which he resorted, provided they effected 
his purpose. 

Buonaparte was particularly exasperated 
against Chastelar, and accusing him of a crime 
which he had never committed, passed an act of 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 55 

outlawry* against him, as well as Hormayr, by 
which they were condemned to death; at the 
same time he issued a proclamation, in which he 
exhorted the Tyrolese to deliver them up to his 
mercy ; accusing Chastelar as a traitor for hav- 
ing taken up arms against his native country, 
and Hormayr as the author of sedition and 
instigator of rebellion. Chastelar had once 
nearly met the fate thus prepared for him. 
On the 13th, at the battle of Worgl, being 
very short-sighted, and deceived by the simi- 
larit}^ of the Bavarian uniform to that of his own 
suite, he suddenly found himself surrounded by 
a party of the enemy's dragoons, who immedi- 
ately took him prisoner, and it was with the 
utmost difficulty that he was rescued. 

After such proofs of the inveteracy displayed 
by Napoleon against Chastelar, it will appear 
extraordinary, that when M. Berthier was at 

* Imperial Head Quarters, Ens, May 5. 
By orders of the Emperor, the person named Chastelar, styl- 
ing himself a General in the service of Austria, the mover of 
the insurrection in the Tyrol, charged with being the author of 
the massacres committed on the Bavarian and French prisoners 
by the insurgents, shall, upon being made prisoner, be carried 
immediately before a military commission, and if judged guilty, 
be shot within twenty-four hours. 

The Prince of Neufchatel. 
E4 



56 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

Vienna, in February, 1810, acting as Envoy to 
the Court of Austria, he industriously sought 
every opportunity of complimenting him on his 
conduct, alluded in the most flattering manner 
to the Italian campaign of 1799, and treated his 
having been proscribed as a piece of badinage, 
an affair not worth remembering. 

The brilliant victories of the Tyrolese on the 
12th and 13th, and the good fortune that marked 
the opening of affairs in the Tyrol, did not fail 
to raise their spirits, and give them the strongest 
hopes of ultimate success ; while the Bavarians 
could not but feel in some degree humbled at 
being thus obliged to acknowledge the supe- 
riority of a handful of undisciplined and ill 
armed peasantry. No one perhaps felt more 
elated than the Emperor of Austria, who could 
not contemplate without emotion the affection 
and attachment so strongly shown to him by the 
Tyrolese, and who saw every probable prospect 
of reuniting to his dominions a country whose 
loss he had so deeply felt, and of whose numer- 
ous advantages he was fully aware. He therefore 
hastened to signify to them his approbation of 
their conduct, and to give them encouragement; 
and to that effect wrote with his own hand the 
following letter from Scharding, which added, 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 57 

if possible, fresh force to the ardour already 
manifested amongst them. 

" Mr DEAR AND FAITHFUL TyROLESE, 

" Since the sacrifices which the unfortunate 
events of the year 1805 compelled me to make, 
when I was obliged to separate from you (a 
separation which was so painful to me), my heart 
has been constantly with you, my honest and 
affectionate children, and you have always ac- 
knowledged me as your kind and well-wishing 
father. 

" As a last proof of my affection, when these 
circumstances obliged me to part from you, I 
made a stipulation for the preservation of your 
constitution ; and it has given me the greatest 
pain to see this stipulation disregarded, which I 
had made for your advantage ; but alas ! at that 
time I was unable to assist you, and could only 
lament your fate in private. 

" When a new cause obliged me again to draw 
my sword, my first thought was to become again 
your father. An army was put in motion to 
effect your deliverance, but before it could meet 
our common enemy you had by your gallantry 
struck a decisive blow, and proved to the whole 
world as well as to myself, what you are ready 
to do to become again a part of that kingdom 



58 HISTORY OF HOFER, 

under which for centuries past you have lived 
contented and happy. 

" Your efforts have touched my heart — I 
know your courage; I am ready to meet all 
your wishes and to count you amongst the best 
and most faithful subjects in the Austrian domi- 
nions. It will be my earnest endeavour to pre- 
vent our being again separated; millions who 
were long your brothers, will be eager to draw 
their swords in the cause. I trust, therefore, in 
you, and you may rely on me ; so by God's as- 
sistance, Austria and the Tyrol will again be 
united as they were for a long series of years. 

" Francis." 
" Scharding, ISth April, 1800." 

The following answer was returned from the 
Tyrol : 

" The powers of language are inadequate to 
express the filial love and gratitude, as well as 
the enthusiasm produced by your Majesty's most 
gracious letter, dated Scharding, the 18th April, 
of this year, in the hearts of your faithful sub- 
jects, the Tyrolese. 

" Your Majesty assures us of your gracious and 
powerful protection, and that you will never let 
us be deprived of the rights and privileges of our 
ancestors ; to realize which assurance, your faith- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 59 

ful Tyrolese have unanimously sworn to sacrifice 
all their property and the last drop of their blood. 

" Your Majesty has appointed an army of 
your own to defend the faithful country of the 
Tyrol, and has given the command of it to Field 
Marshal Marquis Chastelar, one of the most 
prudent, valiant and expert Generals in your 
service, and our countryman. And your Ma- 
jesty has placed under him General Buol, a noble 
worthy man, who exerts himself on all occasions 
for the welfare of our country. 

" Your Majesty has appointed as your Intend- 
ant in the Tyrol, our historian and favourite, 
Baron Hormayr; all of them men of the 
greatest confidence, and generally esteemed in 
the country. 

" Your Majesty, at length, in a moment of the 
most pressing necessity, has most graciously 
given us pecuniary assistance, and to the sum of 
200,000 florins has added a supply of ammuni- 
tion and artillery, which was of the greatest 
service to us. Gifts whose importance we feel 
to the fullest extent, but it is beyond our power 
to give expression to those feelings. 

" How happy we are at knowing that your 
Majesty is graciously pleased to recollect the 
ardour of our affection, and the unanimity of 
our resolution. Certainly the mischances of war 



60 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

do not bend the Tyrolese. Supported by your 
Majesty we will persevere to the last extremity, 
and convince the whole world, as well as your- 
self, that it would be easier to extirpate the 
whole race of the Tyrolese from the face of the 
earth, than to diminish their affection and at- 
tachment to your Majesty and the House of 
Austria. 

" We humbly recommend ourselves and the 
whole country to your favour and grace. 
" We are, 

" Most sacred Majesty, 

" Your most submissive and faithful Servants, 

" Four States of the Tyrol." 
" Innspruck, 1st May, 1809" 

On the 14th April Hormayr was at Botzen, 
from whence he wrote to General Fenner, whom 
he urged to join him, that he might cheer the 
people by his presence, and with the news of the 
victory at Innspruck. On the 18th, Hofer, with 
the peasants of the Passeyr valley, and the rest 
of the men under his command, marched into 
Botzen. Hormayr met him, attended by his 
suite, at the Abbey Gries, and conducted him to 
the town; but the cold and haughty reception 
of General Marschall piqued the vanity of a 
man who had been made so much of by Chas- 
telar and Hormayr, and was probably the 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 6\ 

cause of the subsequent misunderstanding be- 
tween them. 

The troops were immediately put in motion 
towards Trent and Lavis, in order to spread the 
insurrection, by assisting the insurgents in that 
part of the country, arid to enclose the enemy 
in as small a space as possible. General Lemoine, 
who had fled from Brixen, immediately retreated 
into the Ritten Mountains, and soon afterwards 
joined Baraguay d'Hilliers. The landsturm 
from Meran and the Vintsghaw advanced on the 
right side of the Etsch ; and those of Etsch and 
Fleims to the left over Kaltern and Tramin 
towards the passes of Rochetta and Bucco di 
Vela, the possession of which would in a great 
degree facilitate their operations towards Trent. 

In the mean time Chastelar laboured hard to 
bring the peasants into some sort of discipline. 
He organized a corps of cavalry, and distributed 
arms amongst many who, till then, possessed no 
better weapons than spears of their own manu- 
facture ; and while the operations of the army 
in the south continued to be actively carried on, 
he dispatched Baron Taxis with a strong corps 
of Austrians and Tyrolese under his command, 
to make an incursion in the north, and advancing 
by Kempten, Kauftbeuern and Augsburg, to 
pass Wolfertshaufen and alarm Munich. 

The Generals Teimer and Hormayr had pressed 



62 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

Chastelar repeatedly to attack the army in the 
South of the Tyrol at once, and, if possible, 
to drive it entirely out of the country. They 
now urged it in stronger terms than ever, repre- 
senting at the same time the dangerous situation 
of Brixen, and setting forth the consequence of 
that place to the Tyrolese, till Chastelar listened 
at length to their entreaties and began his march 
southward. On the 20th, Lieutenant Colonel 
Count Leiningen, who had become a great 
favorite with the Tyrolese, and especially with 
Hofer, advanced to the very gates of Trent in 
order to reconnoitre, but was obliged to retreat 
on being attacked by the enemy, as they were 
so superior in numbers, but not before he had 
taken several prisoners in the skirmish. This 
was the first time the Tyrolese of the South had 
been engaged. The sharpshooters of Botzen 
and Schlanders under the Captains Gasser and 
Frischman distinguished themselves particularly, 
and took several prisoners ; the whole party 
were deservedly praised for their gallant conduct 
in this affair. 

On the 21st, Chastelar received news of the 
Archduke John's victory at Sacile, and on the 
same day issued his orders and his plan for the 
attack of Trent. The commanding officers re- 
ceived their directions, and Hofer was appointed 
to the command of the right wing, consisting of 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 63 

the Passeyr and Etschthal peasants. At this 
moment Hormayr received an express from Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Goldlin of the Chasseurs, who 
said that he had possessed himself of the pass of 
Bucco di Vela ; that the enemy had sprung the 
bridge of Lavis, and were seen retreating in 
strong parties over the mountains towards Ro- 
veredo, and that they had made preparations for 
destroying the great bridge of Lorenzo upon the 
Etsch ; circumstances which prove that this hasty 
retreat was in consequence of the Archduke 
John's victory. Hofer dispatched letters to the 
officers under his command, giving them direc- 
tions how to proceed, and remained himself at 
head-quarters, where he found better cheer than 
elsewhere, and therefore preferred it to the hard- 
ships of a camp ; to which Hormayr, who ex- 
pected more from his presence and the effect of 
his name than from his knowledge of military 
affairs, readily agreed. 

On the 22d, the enemy evacuated Trent with- 
out firing a shot, and the chief part of their force 
passed the night at Matarello, only a league dis- 
tant from it. Hormayr and Teimer entered the 
town late on the same evening. 

Although the inhabitants of Roveredo were 
disposed to assist the cause, they objected to the 
organization of militia in their neighbourhood 
as well as at Trent, saying, that people who had 



64 HISTORY OF IIOFER. 

been accustomed from their infancy to the se- 
dentary occupation of silk-spinning were unfit 
for a military life, and unable to bear arms. In 
the neighbourhood of the Lago di Garda a few 
companies of volunteers had formed themselves; 
but these were for the most part deserters from 
the Italian army, or men who had fled from the 
conscription, and they committed so many ex- 
cesses, that Hormayr at length found it necessary 
partly to mix them with more orderly and disci- 
plined troops, and partly to disarm them entirely, 
and to this effect the following proclamation 
was published : # — 

* " In consequence of the excesses and irregularity of the 
companies of Italian Sharpshooters, who ramble about in the 
neighbourhood of the Lago di Garda, and have forced the 
peaceful inhabitants to take up arms for their own defence, we 
have issued these orders. Most of the individuals that compose 
them being foreigners, we cannot expect that they should be 
attached to the country : it would be therefore advisable to or- 
ganise some regular Italian sharpshooters immediately, who will 
not commit the same depredations, but who, by defending the 
frontiers, may assert their independence and prove their affection 
for our beloved Prince. We then should hear no more com- 
plaints on account of the violence and insults offered to the 
people. 

We therefore order as follows : 

" 1st. That all the wandering companies of Italian Sharp- 
shooters, viz. those of Meneghelli, Bertelli, Belluti, Collini, 
Cantonati, Chiesi, and Frizzi, who are now in the neigh- 



History of hoker. 6$ 

On Rusca's advance to Trent, the inhabitants* 
of Sulzberg and Nonsberg were ordered to the 

bourhood of the Lago di Garda and the Lederthal, be 
dispersed, and that the officers be responsible for their immediate 
dismission. 

" 2dly. All these officers may, however, be charged with the 
command of new organized companies. 

" 3dly. That the subaltern officers and privates who are not 
natives of the country or settled foreigners, do either take u|> 
arms for our cause, or do show themselves to the magistrate to 
prove that they are willing to earn their bread, and promise to 
conduct themselves in an orderly manner -, they must otherwise 
quit the countiy within eight days. 

" 4thly. If any of these Italian companies are found in the dis" 
trict of the Etsch, or in any other district, after the publication 
of the circular, either from the Commander-in-Chief or the In- 
tendant, they are to be immediately dispersed as is directed in 
the foregoing paragraphs. 

" 5thly. The public, after this proclamation, are required to 
assist these companies no longer, but are ordered to use every 
means in their power, to induce them to espouse the holy cause. 

" Not only the army, but the governors of districts are re- 
quired to enforce the execution of these orders throughout the 
Country. 

ie Christian Count Leiningen^ ** Charles Von Menz, 

Lieutenant Colonel and Deputy Intendant 

Commandant in the South TyroL in the Tyrol. 

" Trent, 26th June, 1809." 

* Alexander Standing who possessed most of the property 
about Sulzberg, a man of great influence in the country, of a 
good understanding and very zealous in the cause, had distin- 
guished himself on several occasions at the opening of affairs, 

F 



66 HISTORY OF KOFER. 

right wing, in order to cat oft his retreat through 
the Etschthal. In spite of these precautions, 
however, he escaped through the Suganthal, 
where Baron Schmidt had been ordered to take 
up his position, but unfortunately had not 
obeyed his orders with sufficient promptitude. 

The peasants of the Suganthal, especially 
those of the mountainous districts of Castelalto, 
Ivano and Tesino, (with the exception of Levico 
and Borgo, who were alarmed at the approach of 
Rusca) had manifested great ardour in the cause. 
Those on the south eastern frontier on the ter- 
ritory of Belluno remained during four weeks 



but on the appearance of Malanotti, suddenly retired. Mala- 
notti, whose prevailing passion was ambition, had made himselt 
popular amongst the people by the energetic manner in which 
he spoke of their prospect of liberty, and by the liberality with 
which he distributed his money 5 but having once gained a sort 
of rank amongst the peasants, and fancying himself feared, he 
assumed a haughtiness and arrogance which the pride of Stan- 
china could not endure, and he therefore retired to Lavis. — 
Tactei, from Croviana, who had in the beginning shown equal 
ardour, and was equally zealous in the cause, was also annoyed 
at the overbearing manner and folly of Malanotti, and retired in 
disgust. Malanotti, therefore, with very little talent, and a head 
too much heated by success to be of any service to him, found 
himself master of the field 5 but instead of pursuing any settled 
line of policy, he refused to obey any orders, and determined 
to act only as might seem best to his own fancy. 






HISTORY OF HOFER. 67 

under arms ; and without the assistance of any re- 
gular troops, not oniy repulsed a strong force of the 
enemy, but obliged them entirely to evacuate the 
districts of Bassano and Belluno. The enthusiasm 
displayed in these districts was such, that the 
women took an active part in the hostilities, and 
aided each other to hurl down stones upon the 
enemy's troops in the narrow defiles. A girl of 
eighteen, named Josephine Negretti, assumed 
the dress of a man, and was several times in ac- 
tion with the sharpshooters, carrying a rifle and 
using it with considerable dexterity. Among 
the natives of this small district, Casimir Bosio 
and Charles Savoi were particularly distinguished, 
and were appointed by Hormayr to the rank of 
majors, as well as the brave Ottavio Bianchi, 
whom the Archduke John made chief of the 
Tyrolese Volunteers : he was taken prisoner at 
Belluno in June, and was shot at Mantua as one 
of the rebellious chiefs, leaving a wife and a 
large family of young children to lament his un- 
timely end. Bianchi died like a hero, exclaim- 
ing in his last moments " long live the Emperor 
Francis." 

The Val di Fiemme had been particularly distin- 
guished at the breaking out of the insurrection : 
the inhabitants of this valley had been irritated 
by the conduct of the Bavarian colonel Dittfurt, 

f 2 



68 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

who, in attempting to raise recruits, had treated 
them with the greatest insolence and severity. 
On the advance of General Rusca, in the begin- 
ning of May, these peasants joining in the 
Cembra, the inhabitants of that valley and those 
of Neumarkt formed the left wing of the land- 
sturm under the command of Delugan. The 
small but patriotic town of Salurn raised se- 
veral companies, who placed themselves under 
the direction of Joseph Bombardi, who had been 
one of the deputies sent to the Archduke at 
Villach. At Neumarkt, the post-master Par- 
datscher took an active and distinguished part. 
On the 23d, at noon, Chastelar dispatched a 
party to reconnoitre the movements of Baraguay 
d'Hilliers ; but as he was still in motion, it was 
difficult to say whether he intended to take up 
his position in the pass of Murazzi, or in the fa- 
mous post of Calliano. But on the morning 
of the 24th Chastelar broke up his position, 
and advanced towards Trent with the Hohen- 
zollern light horse, the Lusignan, Hohenlohe, 
and Bartenstein regiments of infantry, and two 
battalions of Carinthian militia. Lieutenant 
Colonel Ertel commanded the left wing in the 
mountains, and General Fenner the right, with 
Leiningen and Goldlin, while a large body of 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 69 

patriots, commanded by Hofer, were between 
Trent and Romagnano. 

On the same day the two armies engaged at 
Volano. It has never been clearly understood 
why Chastelar, after a hurried and fatiguing 
march, was tempted to engage with an enemy 
so superior to him in numbers. However, al- 
though, Baraguay d'Hiliiers was victorious, he 
reaped no advantages from his victory. He had 
already abandoned Trent, and the important com- 
munication between the Brentathal and Valsa- 
guna, and he now retreated from the pass of 
Murazzi immediately after the battle, evacuated 
Roveredo, and quitted the country entirely. 

Chastelar had scarcely taken up his quarters 
at Roveredo, when the news reached him of the 
ill-success at Landshut and Regensberg, and of 
Jellachich's hasty retreat towards Salzburg. The 
w T hole of the north of the Tyrol was now ex- 
posed to the enemy, and the communication 
with Vienna was in danger of being cut off. In 
this state of affairs, Chastelar gave up the hopes 
he had formed of being able to join the Arch- 
duke John in the Etschthal, and turning his at- 
tention towards the north, ordered a division of 
his army to march in that direction, which orders 
were immediately obeyed, and on the 29th the 
troops were in motion. 

f 3 



70 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

Immediately after the battle of Monte Cerrino, 
the Archduke John began his retreat from Verona, 
but his troops were incessantly harassed during 
their march by Beauharnois, who, having strength- 
ened his cavalry, kept up a continual fight with 
the Austrians. The Archduke therefore deter- 
mined to throw himself with the remains of his 
small army, consisting of fifteen squadrons of 
cavalry, four battalions of grenadiers, and thir- 
teen of light infantry, into the Tyrol, and with 
the assistance of Chastelar, to defend it to the 
last extremity. General Schmidt commanded 
the advanced guard during the march. 

Baraguay d'Hilliers and Rusca were in the 
neighbourhood of Trent, with 15,000 men, and 
hastened through the Brentathal in order to at- 
tack the Archduke in his rear, while Beauhar- 
nois met Schmidt at Bassano. Meanwhile 
Schmidt, instead of hastening over the moun- 
tains to join the Tyrolese, where in conjunction 
with Leiningen he might have harassed the 
Viceroy, remained till it was too late to effect it; 
and when the Archduke ordered him to join 
Chastelar, he found it impossible to obey his 
orders. 

During the action at Saint Bonifacio (30th 
April) the Archduke wrote the following note 
in pencil on his knee. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 71 

" This is a new method of writing letters, but 
the enemy keep up a brisk cannonade, and I 
have no other paper. Veyder will tell you him- 
self what I have not time to write. The enemy 
are aware of their successes in Germany, and 
they hoped to have the same here, but to day 
we have beaten them. They attack us while it 
is of the greatest importance to me to keep clear 
of them. Give my compliments to Hormayr, 
and tell him, that I hope soon to see him in his 
own country. Do not allow the misfortunes 
which have befallen us in Germany to make you 
uneasy: we have done our duty, and we will 
defend the Tyrol, Stiria, Carinthia, Carniola and 
Salzburg, to the last drop of our blood. It is in 
this fortress, aided by our brave mountaineers, 
that we ought to conquer or to die for the glory 
of our ancestors and our arms. I shall not re- 
tire to Hungary — Adieu. 

"John." 
" 30th April, 1809.*' 

On the 3d of May the Archduke sent the fol- 
lowing letters from Montechio Maggiore : — 

1. To Hormayr. 

" Our ill fortune in Germany has forced me 
to cease acting on the offensive, and to direct 

f 4 



73 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

my attention to the safety of those provinces 
which are of so much consequence to Austria. 
But I shall endeavour in my retreat to take every 
possibility of annoying the enemy. Do not be 
alarmed ; the Tyrol shall never be forsaken. I 
have commanded a brigade to march there in 
order to reinforce Field Marshal Chastelar; I 
will defend the Tyrol and the interior of Austria 
to the last extremity, and I believe I shall benefit 
the state much and annoy the enemy more by 
marching to Comorn. 

" Activity shall not be wanting on our part. 
Perhaps we trifle with fortune, but we may yet 
render our country a real service. It will be 
advisable to make this generally known in the 
country. We will hope for the best — the wind 
does not always blow in the same quarter, and 
you I know will not fail us. 

" Archduke John." 

2. To Chastelar. 

" I send you General Schmidt with a brigade 
of infantry, 4 squadrons of Hohenzollern horse, 
and a brigade of artillery. He advances over 
Bassano through Valsugana to Trent or Lavis ; 
you will send him word where to meet you that 
he may know how to act. I am beginning to 
retreat slowly. You will send me word of every 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 73 

thing that happens to you, and in return you 
shall hear of my movements. Should I retreat 
as far as Piava, or even further towards Ca- 
rinthia, I shall take care to make such disposi- 
tions at the entrances of Krauzburg and Cadore 
as shall ensure the communication with the 
Pusterthal. I am writing to Field Marshal Jel- 
lachich to command him to defend the moun- 
tains of the Emsthal ; I beg, therefore, that you 
will acquaint me with all his proceedings. You 
will march home 2 battalions of the Judenburg 
and two of the Bruck militia, as they are pro- 
bably wanted to protect their flocks. We have 
not many troops, but I hope sufficient to defend 
our mountains; at all events, I will leave you 
the troops you already have with you in the 
Tyrol, and the brigade you expect. F. M. Jel- 
lachich will defend the mountains of Salzburg 
and the pass of Steyermarck with the militia 
of that place and that of the neighbourhood of 
the Ems. He will also send F. M. Guilay 
Banus, to Krain, who with the insurgent Kroats 
and the militia of Krain may defend the Isonzo, 
cover Trieste and enable General Stoichevich to 
march into Dalmatia. A small force, composed of 
Carinthian and Pusterthal militia, will secure the 
passes between Italy and the Tyrol. I myself, 
with my small army, will be every where, where 



74 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

danger threatens. — This is my plan in a few 
words. The recruiting will continue in Inner 
Austria, and I shall take care to make such 
dispositions that neither provisions nor ammuni- 
tion may fail us in the Tyrol. 

" Archduke John." 

Lieutenant Colonel Count Leiningen re- 
mained alone with his detachment in the Italian 
Tyrol— he was attacked near Roveredo and 
obliged to yield to a superiority of numbers and 
retire; General Marschall retreated to Botzen. 
On the 2d of May Trent was retaken by Ge- 
neral Rusca : but he did not remain there long. 
The sub-intendant Menz summoned in haste 
the landsturm, while Leiningen kept his posi- 
tion courageously at Lavis. Rusca, thus finding 
himself surrounded by a formidable body of 
armed peasants, did not wait for their attack, 
but made a hasty retreat through Valsaguna to 
Bassano, where it was probable that he would 
have fallen in with Schmidt. 

At this moment Hofer at the head of a large 
body of peasants joined Leiningen, and although 
no action had yet taken place, their union was 
hailed by the people as the most favourable 
omen. This probably was increased by the 
universal dislike evinced for General Marschall, 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 75 

whose hasty retreat was looked upon by the 
peasants as a proof of cowardice and want of 
ardour, though in reality it had been ordered by 
Chastelar. — Marschall was a man of considera- 
ble talent, and an officer who had, perhaps, more 
knowledge in military matters than any one 
engaged in the cause, nor was he at all deficient 
in personal courage ; but he was never a favourite 
amongst the Tyrolese nor even his own soldiers. 
- — He was haughty and distant in his manners 
to them, and had a notion that no man who had 
not already distinguished himself as a soldier, 
was fit to command, and he was, therefore, very 
unwilling to act in concert with any of the 
chiefs of the undisciplined insurgents ; he even 
carried his ill-timed haughtiness so far as to 
object to dine at the same table with their 
favourite Hofer. — This refusal, as might have 
been expected, was instantly and warmly re- 
sented, and a deputation was sent to the Arch- 
duke to complain of his conduct. The conse- 
quence was that Marschall was removed from 
his command, and Count Leiningen was ap- 
pointed to succeed him ; — Hofer, at the same 
time, was directed to act under him without 
restraint. 

Leiningen was the idol of the common peo- 
ple—without any brilliant talents, an exterior 



76 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

in no way remarkable, and manners that did not 
appear at all calculated to please or attract, he 
was always surrounded by crowds when he 
spoke in public ; and the peasants seemed eager 
to follow wherever he led them — heedless of 
danger, provided he was with them. He re- 
mained commandant in the south of the Tyrol 
until the final evacuation of that loyal and un- 
fortunate country. 

Jellachich had been ordered to defend Rad- 
stadt and Werfen, and the important passes of 
Steyermark and Lueg; — Chastelar, therefore, 
hearing that the enemy had been driven back 
from Lueg in their attempt to force that pass, 
hoped that the capture of Kufstein would follow, 
and relied on Jellachich, not only for the defence 
of Salzburg, but for an active assistance in the 
north of the Tyrol. — Jellachich, however, in- 
stead of realizing these hopes remained inactive, 
and manifested throughout the meanest jealousy 
of Chastelar. 

On the 4th of May a proclamation was issued 
at Innspruck addressed to the inhabitants of the 
Salzburg mountains, in order to rouse them to 
activity. 

" Honest and faithful inhabitants of the 
Salzburg mountains ! — The enemy with all their 
powers have gained an advantage over a single 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 77 

corps of the German army, and now beset the 
capital of your country. 

" This important place must be again set free 
in a few days, and the communication with 
Austria again opened, by those brave troops who 
under my command have cleared in fifteen days 
the whole country from Lienz to Innspruck and 
from Innspruck to Peri ; who have given way 
neither to fatigue nor danger, and who in reli- 
gion, proximity of country, and valour, are bro- 
thers to the Tyrolese. 

" You have felt the mild sway of our beloved 
Emperor's sceptre — you have learnt how strongly 
fortified you are by your mountains, and you 
are equally interested in the cause of liberty. 

" Rouse yourselves, then. — Let the brave 
Pinzgauer hasten towards Taxenbach, Luften- 
stein and Schneiselreit ; — Pongauer to Werfen 
and Lueg ; — and you, brave Eilerthaler and 
Brixenthaler, prove, as you did on the heights 
of Rattenberg, and on the bridge of Rotholtz, 
now, on the scenes of the defeats of the Bava- 
rians, that you are indeed brothers of the Tyro- 
lese. 

" He who yet hesitates is an enemy to his 
country, and whoever opposes the insurrection, 
either by word or by deed, will be given up to 
the just fury of the people. 



78 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

" We shall expect a deputation from you — 
we are ready to do any thing for your encou- 
ragement, and we shall see what will be the 
effect of your courage. 

" Marquis Chastelar, &c. &c. 

" Joseph baron hormayr, &c. &c." 

" Innspruck, 4th May, 1809." 

By the junction of the Salzburgers, the right 
flank of the Tyrolese, as well as the sources of 
the Ens and the Muhr, were protected, the 
interior of Austria rendered secure, and the com- 
munication preserved. — This part of the army 
was to act entirely on the defensive, while the 
other was to carry on the war with as much 
activity as possible. It was of the greatest 
importance to secure an undisturbed possession 
of the Vorarlberg ; — because it opened a com- 
munication with Switzerland, and kept the 
whole of the west of the Tyrol, from Veltlin to 
Kempten, free from attack — while it rendered 
the importation of corn from Swabia by the 
lake of Constance more easy, in spite of the 
menaces of Tally rand and the intrigues of the 
French in the Swiss Cantons of St. Gallen and 
Thurgau. 

The intelligence from Salzburg was far from 
cheering. The Bavarian army under the com- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 79 

mand of the Duke of Dantzig (Lefevre) was 
advancing rapidly towards Lienz, and the spirits 
of the patriots, particularly at Innspruck, were 
much damped, as if they already prognosticated 
a change of affairs in favour of the enemy. 

On the 1 1 th of May, the enemy made an 
attempt to relieve Kufstein, and after a well 
contested conflict, supported by only two com- 
panies of regular militia and four of sharp- 
shooters against the whole of Lieutenant Ge- 
neral Wrede's division, the Tyrolese were obliged 
to abandon the pass of Strub. — It happened to 
be Ascension Day, and the peasants were partly 
at church, and partly taking advantage of the 
holiday to enjoy themselves, and it is probable 
that the enemy had been aware of this, and had 
purposely chosen that day for their attack. The 
commandant of Strub, Stainer of Waidring, was 
absent, and it was some time before he could be 
found to head his troops — while General Wrecle 
was expecting hourly to be joined by the Crown 
Prince and Lieutenant General Deroy, 

The battle of Worgl (13th May) was fought 
under equal disadvantages, the force of the 
enemy being much superior. — In this action the 
Austrians lost all their ammunition, baggage, 
&c. and the principal officers very narrowly 
escaped being made prisoners — yet the Bava- 



80 HISTORY OF HOFER, 

rians did not take all the advantage they might 
of their victory ; had they pushed on to Halle 
and Innspruck the same night, they might have 
prevented the junction of the Tyrolese forces, 
and neither Chastelar nor Hormayr could have 
escaped. — For some days previous to the action, 
a considerable part of the Austrians had been 
dispersed about the country, so that the whole 
force on their side consisted of 3000 men, 900 
only of which were troops of the line, the rest 
being composed of Carinthian militia who had 
never been in action, with only six guns and 
seventy of the Hohenzollern light horse ;* while 
the Bavarian force consisted of 18,000 regular 
troops, 1700 horse and above thirty guns. The 
peasants did not take much part in the action, 
and showed themselves only occasionally in 
scattered parties in the mountains, keeping up, 
from time to time, an irregular and ill-directed 
fire which was of no service. 

Hormayr had marched early on the same 
morning, by Chastelar's desire, to meet the 
column of Baron Buol which was advancing by 
Scharnitz, and it was not till late in the evening 
that the intelligence of the defeat at the pass of 

* The French, in their account of the battle, say, that they 
took 700 prisoners and eleven guns. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 83 

Strub reached him at Bavarian Mittewald ; — he 
hurried back to Innspruck the same night, and 
arrived there just as the defeated Austrians were 
flying towards that city. — Chastelar imme- 
diately joined him, concerted plans for future 
operations, and in twenty- four hours his orders 
were executed. — Lieutenant Colonel Ertel took 
up an important position on the Brenner, while 
General Marschall put himself at the head of 
the reserve at Brixen. 

On the night of the 15th, Hormayr advanced 
over the Brenner with the Rodenecker land- 
sturm to Steinach, where he again joined Chas- 
telar, whom he found seriously ill from the 
effects of several severe wounds, as well as from 
mixed feelings of indignation and grief which 
he felt at the indecent treatment he had met 
with at Halle, on the night of his retreat, when 
a party of drunken peasants attempted to drag 
him from his horse. # 



* " The rage of the Tyrolese against Chastelar was so great, 
that, when after the affair at Wbrgl, he took refuge at Halle, 
they attacked him with cudgels, and gave him such a drubbing, 
that he kept his bed for two days and durst not venture to 
make his appearance, except to request a capitulation : he was 
told, however, that no capitulation would be granted to a high- 
way robber, upon which he fled towards the mountains of 
Carinthia." — French papers. 

G 



84 HISTORY OF JHOFER. 

The Tyrol had begun again to be visited by 
misfortunes, and the brilliant success with which 
the insurrection had commenced was not of long 
duration. Chastelar who had been the great 
author and conductor of every plan, was so 
much vexed at his treatment, that the ardour 
which he had displayed in the cause evidently 
relaxed ; and the Austrians were, in general, 
hurt (and with justice) at the conduct of the 
Tyrolese, who had abandoned them in the heat 
of action, deserting their own cause, and giving 
up their protectors to the fury of their enemies. 

The Bavarians, on the other hand, gained 
daily some new advantage, and every town and 
village through which they passed, bore marks 
of some outrageous excess of cruelty too horrible 
to relate.* They spared neither the aged nor 

* The German author enters into a minute and circum- 
stantial description of these cruelties, but I have purposely 
omitted them. A reader of sensibility is only disgusted by such 
horrors, and the information conveyed to him does not com- 
pensate for the pain which the recital excites. 

Among other places the town of Schwarz was destroyed ; the 
Tyrolese say, that the Bavarians wantonly set fire to it, and as- 
sisted and encouraged the fury of the flames till eveiy house was 
demolished. The Bavarians, however, give a different account. 

" When the Van approached the town of Schwarz, an Aus- 
trian battalion, some cavalry, some battalions of the-Landwehr, 
and some rebels, were perceived advancing. Baron Wrede in- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 85 

the helpless; old men, women, and children, 
were alike objects of their insatiable rage ; and 

stantly caused the artillery to be brought up, in order to turn 
them back ; but they threw themselves into the town, and it 
was easy to perceive that they (the Austrians) had formed the 
desperate resolution of defending it. As the ground was favour- 
able, Baron Wrede himself led on the Leiningen regiment of 
light infantry to the attack of the Austrian battalion ; that was 
routed, and great numbers of them put to the sword or taken 
prisoners. A part of the Austrians, with the rebels, threw them- 
selves into the town, while another part attempted to destroy 
the bridge, but they were prevented by the Kasper's battery. 
The carabineers of the 1st brigade having made themselves 
masters of the suburbs, a battalion of the 3d Regiment of Duke 
Charles entered to take the town by storm. Baron Wrede 
penetrated twice into the town, but was forced twice to retreat 
to the principal church, as the Austrians and rebels fired from 
the houses upon the Bavarians. At length the 13th Regiment 
of infantry stormed the place. All who were in the streets 
or houses were put to the sword or taken prisoners. Among 
the latter, were three captains and 182 soldiers of the Austrian 
regiment Devaux. The slaughter was dreadful, and the courage 
of our troops incomparable ! 

" Scarcely were our troops in bivouac, when the two suburbs 
were set on fire by the howitzer grenades which had been 
thrown in, and in half an hour they were in flames. The inha- 
bitants having fled, the Lieutenant General sent part of two 
regiments to extinguish the flames ; there being no engines or 
vessels of any kind at hand to convey water for that purpose, 
they did not succeed till the following day, and then not without 
great trouble and difficulty. In the evening, at eight o'clock, a 
high wind arose, which blew the sparks upon the roofs of the 

G 2 



86 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

Bavaria will ever have cause to blush at the 
recollection of crimes which will be a deep 
stain upon her name and her honour. If these 
cruelties were exercised from policy, it was a 
very mistaken policy, for they were not calcu- 
lated to subdue the popular feeling in the Tyrol ; 
and although in many places the Bavarians 
had spread terror on their approach, their con- 
duct rather served to irritate than to terrify the 
peasants, and excited them to carry on the war, 
if not with the same ardour, yet with a sort of 
desperate desire of vengeance which was equally 
terrible to their enemies. 

The military operations in the Tyrol pro- 
ceeded however, with much less alacrity. In 
Innspruck there was a difference of opinion; 
the citizens being awed by the success of the 
Bavarians were anxious to submit, while the 
peasants were strenuous for a continuance of 
hostilities, and declared their determination of 
fighting to the last extremity. On the 17th of 
May a council of war was held on the Brenner 
to deliberate upon the future operations of the 
army, but in the mean time Chastelar arrived 

houses which had hitherto escaped. The remainder of the town 
caught fire, there was nothing to oppose the flames ; and this 
town once so flourishing has been converted into a heap of 
ashes and ruins." — Bavarian Papers, May 20. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 87 

at Sterzing to join the Archduke with all the 
troops under his command, as he was deter- 
mined, though inferior in strength, to dispute 
the ground with the enemy step by step. He, 
therefore, immediately commanded a retreat 
from the Brenner, and advanced without delay 
to Mulhbach, and, on the following day, to 
Brunecken. At Mittewald he was overtaken 
by Teimer, who had previously communicated 
with the Bavarians, and who now urged him in 
the most earnest manner not to abandon them, 
but to complete the promises of assistance he 
had so frequently given them to terminate a war 
which had been so gloriously begun. He urged 
strongly the dislike which the Bavarians evi- 
dently felt to the continuation of a war with an 
irritated peasantry, carried on with so much 
irregularity and detriment to themselves. He 
pleaded their excuses for the unpardonable 
cruelties committed by the soldiery, and stated 
that they were prepared to negociate amicably 
and evacuate the country. Chastelar listened 
to his persuasions, and at length dispatched 
him with Baron Beyder to endeavour to nego- 
ciate a treaty, which it is probable the Bavarians 
never intended to open, and which they cer- 
tainly never did negociate. 

During four-and-twenty hours the enemy in 
g 3 



88 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

the Lower Innthal had remained quiet. But 
"Wrede had received intelligence of the discord 
prevailing at Innspruck and Halle, and deter- 
mining not to lose so favourable an opportunity 
of striking a blow, advanced up the left shore 
of the Inn with so much rapidity, that on the 
arrival of Beyder and Teimer, they found him 
already on the plains of Bompar. He treated 
them with great contempt, and giving back to 
the former Chastelar's dispatch unopened, pre- 
sented him, at the same time, with the act of out- 
lawry issued against him by Napoleon ; adding, 
that if he ever fell into his hands, he should suffer 
immediate death. Teimer, to whom he had a few 
days before offered the rank of Major in his army, 
on condition that he would attempt to appease 
the irritation of the peasantry, he now treated 
with peculiar insolence, and threatened more 
than once during the interview to make him pri- 
soner, although he came under a flag of truce. 
They returned therefore, burning with indigna- 
tion, to Chastelar, who was still at Brunecken, 
where he afterwards received orders from the 
Archduke to remain in the Tyrol, and to defend 
it to the last. 

Chastelar, therefore, once more turned all 
his thoughts to the assistance of the Tyrolese. 
He hastened from Brunecken back to Muhl- 



HISTORY OF IIOFER. S<) 

bach, summoned the landsturm, and ordered 
the position on the Brenner to be again taken 
up. Hormayr and Teimer, at the same time, 
formed a plan of passing through Etschland 
and the Vintsghaw to the Upper Innthal, from 
whence they might reach the capital, and 
either dislodge the enemy from their present 
position, or at least oblige them to divide their 
force, by which means they would be more ex- 
posed to the irregular warfare of the moun- 
taineers. 

The head-quarters of Chastelar were, in the 
mean time, a scene of constant dispute; Hor- 
mayr and Beyder being of opinion that the 
Tyrol ought on no account to be abandoned, 
but, on the contrary, to be defended to the last 
extremity ; while General Marschall and Major 
Lebzeltern were only anxious to leave a country 
which was disagreeable to them, and where they 
were universally disliked. These disputes natu- 
rally gave rise to so many contradictory orders, 
that the troops were unable to comprehend 
them, and General Buol, who commanded the 
advanced guard, was frequently at a loss where 
to march his men. On the 15th of May he 
received orders to remain stationary with his 
division on the Brenner ; but on the same day, 
in the afternoon, he was ordered to advance 

g4 



90 HISTORY OF IIOFEH. 

immediately to Innspruck; on the 16th, early 
in the morning, he was ordered to retreat over 
the Ellenbogen to the Brenner, but to defend 
the castle of Friedberg to the last; during the 
day he was commanded to march from Inn- 
spruck to Steinach, and in the evening was 
ordered to remain at Innspruck. Thus the 
General was kept in a constant state of doubt 
and uncertainty; so that while his troops were 
harassed by daily marches and countermarches 
he was at a loss how to proceed, and unable to 
act on the offensive. — To these contradictory 
orders which continued to be issued during 
several days, we add an extract of a letter from 
General Marschall to Buol, dated Laditscher 
Bridge, 21st of May. 

" It is your desire to know the situation of 
Field Marshal Chastelar. Circumstances and 
his increased indisposition induced him to de- 
part an hour ago from Muhlbach to Lienz. — 
Before his departure he wrote an order con- 
signing to you the command of all the troops in 
the Tyrol, and he gave me to understand that 
he had done so. The Field Marshal found it 
necessary, however, to command Colonel Volk- 
man to march with two battalions of Johann 
Jellachich, four companies of 2d Banal, and four 
3-pounders to Lienz, with which he hopes to be 



HISTORY OF HOFEft. 91 

able to reach the narrow passes, and to make an 
opening for this corps as well as for himself. 

" I am still ignorant of the state of affairs at 
Saxenburg and Griefenburg, but I conceive that 
this evening General Schmidt will be officially 
informed of it. It is, however, certain that a 
battalion which was ordered to march from the 
Gailthal to Saxenburg has not reached it, and 
that the bridge of Saxenburg has been carried. 
The enemy is at Spital with 2000 men, and 
Field Marshal Jellachich has joined the army 
of the Archduke." 

In the mean time Chastelar was retreating 
towards Lienz with the intention of leaving the 
country ; and it was reported by the Bavarians 
and French, that the Austrians had abandoned 
the Tyrol, and that the insurrection was com- 
pletely subdued. Many of the peasants de- 
ceived by these reports retired to their homes, 
giving up a cause which they considered as 
hopeless, while others more courageous, and, 
perhaps, more averse from the Bavarian govern- 
ment, were still determined to resist all attempts 
to subdue them. Amongst these Hofer bore a 
conspicuous part ; Chastelar had presented him 
with a handsome sword and a pair of pistols as 
a reward for his conduct, and proud of what he 
considered so great a mark of distinction, he ap- 



92 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

peared at the head of the Passeyrthal peasants, 
who had already distinguished themselves on 
several occasions, and who now proved true to 
a cause which had been abandoned by so many 
of their countrymen. 

Hormayr and Teimer, who were determined 
to pursue to the utmost the plan they had 
formed for the deliverance of their country, in- 
creased their activity ; and although affairs did 
not wear so favourable an appearance as formerly, 
they put themselves at the head of their men, 
and prepared to make a desperate effort to re- 
gain their liberty. Meanw r hile it was reported 
that the enemy had again taken possession of 
the Brenner, and Leiningen was ordered to 
march without delay to the heights of Schabs, 
and, if possible, to join Chastelar. The unfor- 
tunate affair at Worgl which had been the first 
cause of the retreat of the Austrians, and the 
loss of Innspruck, by which it was imme- 
diately followed ; had an evident effect on the 
minds of the peasantry, and while Hormayr was 
exerting himself to rouse them again to that 
state of enthusiasm from which they had fallen, 
the extraordinary conduct of Lebzeltern and the 
backwardness of Leiningen convinced them that 
their cause was abandoned by the Austrians. 
As Hormayr approached the Innthal he found 



HISTORY OF HOFEK. 93 

the people every where shy of joining him, and 
at every step he had some new difficulty to con- 
tend with. The militia called aloud for their 
arrears of pay, while others said they would not 
fight for a government which had so basely 
deserted them. An obscure individual, Rung- 
ger of Nauders, added fuel to this spirit of dis- 
affection by encouraging and assisting the dis- 
tribution of Bavarian proclamations, and by 
using every means in his power to render Hor- 
mayr unpopular. This treachery, however, did 
not escape notice; Hormayr ordered the man 
to be apprehended ; but he made his escape, 
and concealed himself at St. Maria in the Mun- 
sterthal in the dress of a peasant, where, how- 
ever, he was afterwards discovered and deli- 
vered up to Hormayr at Meran. 

General Buol still continued on the Brenner 
in a wretched state, being totally destitute of 
money and ammunition. Hormayr in the 
mean time was actively employed in keeping 
up a communication with Switzerland, from 
whence he received through the mountains, 
under various pretences, supplies of provisions, 
arms, ammunition, &c. notwithstanding the 
avowed neutrality of the Swiss. Veltlin had 
been a scene of continual disturbance, and al- 
though General Polfrancheschi contrived to 



94 HISTORY OF HOFEK. 

keep the cities on the plains in subjection, the 
mountains were occupied by the insurgents, who 
on the 2 1 st of May delivered at Tirano, a body 
of 500 conscripts, and 200 peasants, that had 
been taken prisoners; the Tyrol had nothing 
therefore to fear in that quarter. 

The constant fatigue and exertion to which 
Hormayr was necessarily exposed, combined 
with the anxiety which preyed upon his mind, 
brought on a low fever, and he was for some 
time wholly unfit for active service. In the 
midst of his sufferings, however, he never for a 
moment lost sight of the cause which was so 
dear to him ; and by his exertion Innspruck was 
once more relieved from the enemy, and for a 
time affairs wore a brighter aspect. Teimer had 
advanced by Zirl and Martinswand straight to 
the Bavarian line, and was joined by Mahr- 
berger, with the landsturm of Imst, Peters- 
berg and Hortenberg, with whose assistance he 
intended to cut off the nearest communications 
with Munich by seizing the important posi- 
tions of Scharnitz and Laitasch. 

The inhabitants of Imst had refused to send 
any assistance to Hormayr, alleging that since 
their cause had been deserted by the Austrians, 
they would not continue to exert themselves, as 
they saw they could derive no advantage from 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 05 

it; but on the advance of Teimer, several of the 
principal citizens joined him, among whom were 
the Burgomasters Strele and Stecher, with three 
companies, declaring that they were resolved to 
share his fate whatever might be the result of 
his efforts. In Reutti the peasants were still less 
inclined to continue the war, and had not only 
openly submitted to Bavaria, but had possessed 
themselves of the booty taken by Teimer in 
Swabia, that they might have something to pro- 
duce when the Bavarians should demand repara- 
tion for the losses they had sustained. 

This disaffection to the cause was not, how- 
ever, general ; seven companies from Landeck, 
and two from Nauders, joined Hormayr; and 
the people of Lechthal and Aschau, forced the 
citizens to take up arms, so that 3% companies 
in a short time occupied the important positions 
of Roschlag Gacht, Operpinzwang, &c. 

From the 13th to the 19th of May the Ba- 
varians had remained almost inactive, and did 
not take advantage either of the victory gained 
at Worgl, of the subsequent disaffection of the 
peasantry, or of their advantageous positions. 
This inactivity may perhaps have been owing to 
the interruption of their regular communications 
by the incessant and active vigilance of the steady 
part of the Tyrolese peasantry, who, in the con- 



96 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

stant apprehension of treachery, destroyed every 
paper that fell into their hands, whether they 
understood it or not ; the consequence of which 
was, that several of the Bavarian dispatches, 
and some of considerable importance, never ar- 
rived at the place of their destination. On the 
19th, however, in the evening, they advanced 
to Innspruck. From an intercepted dispatch it 
appeared that the Duke of Dantzig, on learning 
that Chastelar had resolved to abandon the 
Brenner, and to join the Archduke through the 
Pusterthal, had determined to force the two 
central positions on the heights of the Brenner 
and Schabs, to endeavour to open a communica- 
tion with Italy through Botzen and Trent, and 
at the same time to pursue Chastelar through 
the Pusterthal. It appeared also that he had 
received a courier from Eugene Beauharnois, 
informing him that the Archduke would be 
obliged to abandon his position at Villach, but 
that Jellachich had retreated in order to join 
him. The duke therefore determined that the 
division of Deroy should pursue Chastelar, while 
he himself marched with two divisions through 
Salzburg to Upper Carinthia, where he would 
be able to prevent Jellachich's advance, or, at all 
events, to place the Archduke with his small army 
between himself and the Viceroy. On the 23d 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 97 

of May he begun his march from Innspruck, 
but on the morning of the 25th he met a courier 
ordering him to proceed immediately towards 
Lienz. 

The state of affairs in the Tyrol on the 25th 
was as follows : The Etschthal was undisturbed 
by the enemy. Count Leiningen retained his 
position at Trent and had begun to fortify Cas- 
tella. Veltlin and the neutral ground of Swit- 
zerland covered the whole of the western frontier. 
The Vorarlbergers, by the reported capitulation 
of the Tyrolese, had laid down their arms and 
dispersed themselves. Bregenz and the country 
as far as Hohenems was occupied by a strong- 
body of Wurtembergers unde^ the command of 
Generals Scholer and Roseris, and a division of 
French under Colonel Grouvelle. In Pludenz, 
Feldkirk, and the mountainous districts, the pea- 
sants were still under arms, and continued to 
defend themselves with great perseverance, al- 
though all the regular troops, except one com- 
pany and a six-pounder, with Lieutenant Colonel 
Baron Haagen had deserted them. Reitti and 
Ehrwald were not much disturbed. The shortest 
and best road from Innspruck to Munich, by 
Scharnitz and the Iserthal, was occupied by the 
division of Count Max Arco, who, with the as- 



98 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

sistance of General Deroy, kept up the com- 
munication with Innspruck. The patroles at 
Zirl, and on the heights near Seafeld were de- 
stroyed. The insurgents of the Upper Vintsghaw 
and Upper Inn thai, under the command of 
Teimer, were separated into two divisions ; that 
on the left, commanded by Mahrberger, was to 
retake from the enemy the passes of Scharnitz 
and Laitasch ; while the main body, headed by 
Teimer in person, extending from Zirl over the 
heights of Hotting to the Castle of Thauer in 
the rear of the enemy, was to destroy the bridges 
of the Inn and the Sill, and to give again the 
signal for insurrection in the Lower Innthal, 
which had been for a time quiet; but Speck- 
bacher had been active in urging the people not 
to abandon the cause, and they were ready to rise 
again at a moment's warning. 

General Buol remained on the Brenner w r ith 
2,300 men, 70 horse and six guns, but without 
ammunition. With the exception of Lein- 
ingen's divisions, the whole of Chastelar's corps 
was in the Drauthal, towards Lienz, partly on the 
frontiers of the Tyrol, and partly entering Ca- 
rinthia. He had relieved Clagenfurt from Ge- 
neral Rusca, and attacked Saxenburg ; his plan 
was to break through the rear of the enemy by 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 97 

Spital, and combining his force with Jellachich, 
to join the Archduke, who was in ambush at 
Gratz. 

The plan of the Archduke was to collect as 
strong a force as possible in the neighbourhood 
of Gratz, to begin his operations by attacking 
Macdonald, and if successful in this attack, then, 
to act on the offensive with Marmont, Broussier, 
and Rusca in succession, and thus to prevent 
their joining the main army, while at the same 
time he could keep the communication open 
with the interior of Austria, and the passage to 
the Tyrol through the Drauthal free ; but un- 
fortunately he was unable to execute a plan 
which had been so ably devised. Jellachich, who 
was advancing to join him, was attacked and 
defeated at St. Michael on the. 29th May with 
great slaughter, losing above 100 officers, and 
64<76 privates; he passed through Lerben and 
Bruck the day after the battle with scarcely 
3000 men. 

Hofer in the mean time carried on the war in 
the Tyrol with unabated activity, and the spirit 
of the patriots seemed to have gained additional 
strength from their misfortunes. Hormayr had 
sent to Hofer a young man who had served in 
the Italian Chasseurs, named Joseph Eisen^ 

H 



98 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

stecken to act as his Adjutant. Eisenstecken was 
of a bold and enterprizing character, but of a 
passionate temper, and in general too hasty and 
thoughtless in his decision upon subjects that 
required cool and mature consideration. He 
was at the same time joined by two Capuchin 
Friars, Father Joachim Haspinger and Father 
Peter, they were both young and athletic, and 
although they never carried arms, were al^ 
ways seen in the thickest of the fight, dealing 
tremendous blows on the heads of their adver- 
saries, with stout wooden crucifixes, with which 
they did considerable execution. They also 
busied themselves in making amulets, or charms, 
which were to render the wearer invulnerable, 
but these lost much of their effect when several 
hundred of the peasants had been killed who 
were known to have worn them. 

Eisenstecken, in spite of his impetuosity, was 
of the greatest service to the patriotic cause ; 
being enthusiastic in the extreme, and never 
relinquishing an object which he thought might 
contribute to the welfare of his country, or the 
cause in which he was engaged, he used every 
means in his power to dissuade the Austrians 
from abandoning the Tyrol ; he had twice inter- 
cepted the order for General Buol to leave the 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 99 

Brenner, and when at length the Austrian troops 
began to move, he threw himself on his knees 
before them, and conjured them in the most pa- 
thetic manner to recollect their desperate situa- 
tion ; to remember that it was for Austria they 
were fighting, and not to desert a cause, which, 
without their aid would be hopeless. Hofer in 
the mean time gave way to useless lamentations, 
and while he grieved at the retreat of the Aus- 
trians, the predominant feeling appeared to be 
alarm at the prospect of the probable destruction 
that awaited his country. 

The army of the insurgents notwithstanding, 
increased daily, and Eisenstecken was indefati- 
gable in his exertions to heighten their ardour, 
and to bring them into some sort of discipline. 
The greatest difficulty he had to surmount was 
their excessive dislike of any sort of duty dur- 
ing the night; they could not even be persuaded 
to mount guard except in the day time. The 
enemy were probably aware of this, as they at- 
tacked them several times during the night. 

General Buol had still retained his station on 
the Brenner, while the troops commanded by 
Lieutenant Colonel Ertel extended themselves 
along Mount Isel to Wiltau. Here also Hofer, 
accompanied by his brave Adjutant Eisen- 
stecken and the two Capuchin Friars, appeared 

h 2 



100 HTSTORY OFHOFER. 

at the head of his men. On the 25th of Mav 
he attacked the Bavarian division of Deroy, but 
not being sufficiently well provided with ammu- 
nition, and unable to keep his men in proper 
order, he was repulsed. For several hours during 
the action the fate of the day seemed undecided; 
the Bavarians were twice driven from the heights 
of Passberg, but their superior strength, and the 
advantage they derived from their discipline, at 
length decided it in their favour. The Tyrolese 
gave way about five in the afternoon, and the 
contending parties were separated by a tremend- 
ous storm. Deroy, however, derived no ad- 
vantage from this skirmish ; for although he had 
been successful in the engagement, both he and 
his troops were astonished and alarmed at the 
valour and intrepidity with which they had been 
attacked, and he thought it prudent to retreat ; 
at the same time issuing a proclamation of par- 
don from the King of Bavaria and Buonaparte, 
stating — " that all the Tyrolese who had not yet 
laid down their arms might be assured of a gracious 
pardon both from the Emperor of the French 
and the King of Bavaria, provided they did so 
immediately." 

To this proclamation Deroy annexed the fol- 
lowing letter from himself : 



history of hofer. 101 

" Tyroleans ! 

" Why do you still persevere in your errors? 
Youhope, perhaps, by this means to procure some 
advantage for yourselves ; and yet the effect of 
such conduct must be, that the Emperor of the 
French and the King of Bavaria will over- 
run your country with such a force as will 
make you feel their power, and overwhelm you 
with all the horrors of war. Every one who 
considers the subject reasonably must expect it. 

"It grieves me much to see his Majesty's sub- 
jects swerve from their duty and their allegiance, 
and bringing upon themselves inevitable misfor- 
tune by their obstinacy. Let me advise you, 
therefore, honest Tyroleans, to make yourselves 
worthy of the pardon which is so graciously as- 
sured to you, and to return to your duty and 
your legitimate monarch. 

" Tyroleans 1 have confidence in my advice ; 
send some deputy to me with whom I may con- 
fer; few words will suffice to make us understand 
each other ; and I swear solemnly and publicly 
that those who come to me shall return to you 

in safety, 

" Deroy, Lieut.-General, 

and Commandant of the 8th Royal 

Bavarian Division" 

" Head Quarters, Innspruck, 

Q7thMay, 1809." 

h 3 



102 HISTORY OF HOFEK. 

After the undecisive skirmish on the 25th, 
Lieutenant Colonel Reissenfels retreated with 
the left wing of the Tyrolese over Patsch to 
Ellenbogen, and Colonel Ertel to Matrey; his 
advanced guard took up their position at Schon- 
berg, and extended the line to Mount Isel. The 
mountains were at the same time covered with 
scattered parties of the peasantry in all directions, 
and General Buol occupied the pass of Lueg on 
the Brenner, where he remained, in spite of the 
solicitations of the people who urged him to 
advance and join the van. They were exceed- 
ingly ill provided with ammunition, and were in 
constant fear that the enemy would discover it, 
and attack them before they could hope for a 
fresh supply. Their anxiety on this subject was 
however considerably lessened, on hearing that the 
Bavarians were equally deficient in this respect 
with themselves. On the 26th and 27th they 
were employed in making cartridges, mustering 
the companies of sharpshooters, and examining 
the state of their arms. Eisenstecken laboured 
hard to keep the people contented, for many had 
begun to murmur, and express their wish to re- 
turn home, because the war could not be decided 
in a few hours ; some indeed had already put 
these threats into execution, and quietly retired, 
but their places were soon supplied by a rein- 
forcement from Botzen. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 103 

The troops who were engaged on the 29th 
consisted of between 800 and 900 men, 70 horse, 
with 5 guns, and nearly 18,000 irregular Ty- 
rolese Peasants. The Bavarians had 8,000 foot, 
800 horse, and 25 guns. The situation of 
both parties was critical in the extreme. The 
want of ammunition was felt most on the side 
of the Tyrolese and Austrians, who dared not 
descend into the plain on account of the supe- 
riority of the cavalry and artillery of the Bava- 
rians. 

The enemy had quiet possession of Innspruck, 
and were posted round the town in the most ad- 
vantageous manner possible; some of them, 
however, were very near the rocks of the adja- 
cent mountains, and they never approached 
within shot without experiencing the admirable 
skill with which the Tyrolese peasants used their 
rifles. The river Sill was on their left flank, 
while the town and the river Inn protected their 
rear. 

The Bavarians had all advantages on their 
side except numbers. They had military skill 
and experience to oppose to the irregular efforts 
of an undisciplined peasantry. The regular 
Austrian force opposed to them was very small, 
the main body of the Tyrolese army consisting 
of the peasants. They had an ample supply of 

h 4 



104 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

provisions, whilst the Tyrolese had nothing but 
the scanty supply, which they could carry in their 
knapsacks, and no better arms than a scythe or a 
hay-fork ; and when the stock which they 
had brought with them was exhausted, they did 
not scruple to desert and return to their homes. 
Had the Bavarians therefore kept them in sus- 
pense for a short time, many of them would 
have gone away, and those who remained would 
have considered delay, as they always did, a 
forerunner of defeat. Under all these circum- 
stances, it is surprising, that the Bavarians suf- 
fered themselves to be brought to action on the 
ground they then occupied, or that being com- 
pelled to engage, they were defeated. The Ty- 
rolese fought under every disadvantage, and al- 
though their impetuosity at the moment over- 
came all obstacles, their leaders confessed, that, 
situated as they had been, their success was as 
unlocked for as it was agreeable. 

Hormayr had previous to this action remained 
at Landeck, from whence he kept up a corre- 
spondence with Hofer ; but Hofer's letters were 
so wild and his intelligence so inconsistent 
and unconnected, that he was unable to under- 
stand their intentions; and had it not been for 
a message which he received from Colonel Ertel, 
he would have been ignorant of the affair of the 



HISTORY OF HOFEH. 105 

29th. Hofer, he heard, passed the principal 
part of his time at the alehouse; but he was 
particularly fond of writing and dispatching 
couriers, without considering the danger they 
ran of falling into the hands of the enemy, and 
of disclosing their plans and motions. The fol- 
lowing singular letter, which is very charac- 
teristic of the man, was addressed by him to the 
inhabitants of the Upper Innthal: — 

" Dear Brethren of the Upper Innthal. — For 
God, the Emperor, and our dear native country. 
To-morrow early in the morning is fixed for the 
attack. With the help of our Holy Mother, we 
will seize and destroy the Bavarians, and we 
confide ourselves to the beloved Jesus. Come 
to our assistance, but if you fancy yourselves 
wiser than Divine Providence we will do with- 
out you. 

" Andrew Hofer." 

Hormayr, on the 28th, advanced from Lan- 
deck to Imst, where he was attacked with a vio- 
lent inflammatory sore throat, which confined 
him to his bed, and he could only dictate his 
orders from thence in a whisper, while his dis- 
order was augmented by the impatience which 
he felt to lead in person the attack at Scharnitz, 
where he was persuaded that his intimate know- 



106 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

ledge of the country would render his presence 
essentially useful. Count Max Arco had ad- 
vanced from Scharnitz ; but Captains Falk and 
Count Joseph Mohr met him between Burgberg 
and Lauterer-See, with the sharpshooters of Lan- 
deck and Latsch, and after a short skirmish, com- 
pletely routed him, taking 83 prisoners (among 
whom was a Bavarian officer of rank), and one 
ammunition waggon. The enemy had 27 killed ; 
Count Max Arco's horse was shot under him, 
which obliged that officer to fly on foot. Teimer, 
on receiving the news of this success, advanced 
immediately towards Innspruck. 

On the 29th May, the engagement took place 
which delivered the Tyrol a second time from 
the Bavarians. The Tyrol ese began their march 
at four o'clock in the morning, in the highest 
spirits and confident of success, and soon after 
seven the action commenced. As on the 25th, 
Colonel Reissenfels commanded the right wing 
and Colonel Ertel the left. The advanced 
guard was led by Amman, Captain of Chasseurs, 
a Tyrolese, for whom the countrymen had the 
greatest affection, and whose military talents 
fully entitled him to the command with which 
he was entrusted ; he led them on that day with 
uncommon gallantry, and fell covered with glo- 
rious wounds. Reissenfels broke up his posi- 



HISTORY OF HOFEtt. 107 

tion on the heights of St. Peter, and advanced 
over Patsch with four columns, to attack the 
bridges of Volders and Halle. He was accompa- 
nied by Lieutenant Colonel Leis, of Hohenlohe 
Bartenstein, and Joseph Speckbacher, who par- 
ticularly distinguished himself, and who had 
been throughout a most strenuous supporter of 
the cause. He was a tall athletic man, with 
black eyes and hair, stooped considerably, and 
had generally an expression of dejection and 
melancholy in his countenance ; but when the 
war in which he was engaged, or any thing re- 
lating to his native country (to which he was 
devotedly attached) was mentioned, his features 
brightened up with an appearance of animation 
and pleasure, and he raised his head as if proud 
of the part he was acting. From his youth he 
had been famed for the dexterity with which he 
used his rifle, and esteemed for his courage and 
intrepidity, of which many remarkable anecdotes 
are told.* 

* Joseph Speckbacher was born at Gnadenwald, a village in 
the neighbourhood of Halle, on the 14th of August, 1768. 
His father was superintendant of the salt works at Halle, and 
his grandfather had distinguished himself formerly against the 
Bavarians. " Often," says Speckbacher, speaking of himself, 
" has my imagination been fired by the recital of his deeds, and 
my young heart beat to follow his example." His father died 



108 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

Speckbacher with his column, consisting of 
€00 men, attacked the enemy at the bridge of 
Halle, drove them back, and destroyed it. The 
farm of Rainerhof was three times attacked by 



at the age of 76, leaving eight children,, of whom Joseph (then 
six years old) was the third. A few years afterwards he lost his 
mother j and was sent to school, where, in spite of the attention 
that was paid to him during a considerable time which he spent 
there, he could not be taught either to read or write. He 
was naturally of a wild disposition, and the discipline of his 
school had not the effect of taming him -, he acknowledges him- 
self, that his conduct was a constant source of uneasiness to his 
parents and relations. 

At the age of twelve, having formed an intimacy with a few 
companions as wild as himself, he took to a roving unsettled 
mode of life, wandering through the forests of Bavaria, and com- 
mitting all sorts of depredation. During their excursions, how- 
ever, one of his associates, named Staudacher, was killed be- 
fore his eyes by a Bavarian chasseur, which appears to have 
brought him to his senses, for from that moment he quitted the 
lawless life he had hitherto been leading, for one of respectability, 
and was afterwards appointed overseer of the salt mines at Halle. 

In his 2 7th year he married Maria Schmeider, of Rinn, a 
woman of some little property, whose first care was to persuade 
her husband to make up for his former neglect by learning to 
read and write, an accomplishment which he found of the 
greatest use to him afterwards, as he held in consequence seve- 
ral places of trust and responsibility in his district, and during 
the war of 1809, in which he was a principal actor, it was ab- 
solutely indispensable. Speckbacher was decidedly Hofer's 
superior in military talents, but did not rank so high in public 



HISTORY OF HOFER, 109 

the Bavarians, who were each time driven back 
with considerable loss. During the conflict at 
the farm, a young woman, who resided at the 
house, brought out a small cask of wine to 
encourage and refresh the peasants, and had ad- 
vanced to the scene of action regardless of the 
tremendous fire of the Bavarians, with the cask 
upon her head, when a bullet struck it and com- 
pelled her to let it go. Undaunted by this ac- 
cident, she hastened to repair the mischief, by 
placing her thumb to the orifice caused by the 
ball, and encouraged those nearest to her to re- 
fresh themselves quickly, that she might not re- 
main in her dangerous situation and suffer for 
her generosity. 

The second column, under Reissenfels, Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Schulterer, and Captain Gas- 
teiger, consisting of 500 Tyrolese, one division 
of Devaux, commanded by Captain Herman and 
Baron Welling, and a few Hohenzollern light 
horse, advanced towards the Castle of Ambras, 
and the bridge over the Sill. 

The third column, formed of 800 Tyrolese, 

estimation. The kind of authority, however, which he pos- 
sessed over his followers much resembled that of his friend, 
and the victories gained by the peasantry (whenever he was 
present) were certainly in a great measure owing to his ardour 
and intrepidity. 



I 10 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

under Captain Wolfgang Natterer, extended it- 
self over Rinn and Judenstein, and joined Speck- 
bacher's division. The fourth, of 1200 Tyrolese, 
under Colonel Stuffer, and one division of De- 
vaux, under Captains Dobrawa and Immor, re- 
mained in reserve at Lans. The Castle of 
Ambras was soon taken, but the Bavarians reso- 
lutely defended the bridge of the Sill, and drove 
the Tyrolese back to Passberg, upon which Cap- 
tain Dobrawa advanced and stormed the bridge 
with redoubled ardour, and with the assistance 
of Colonel Ertel drove them to the village of 
Wiltau. Ertel had advanced on the heights of 
Mount Isel with the reserve (2,000 men) of 
Meraner and Algunder, and a company of chas- 
seurs, vigorously assailed the heights of Mutters 
and Natters, and drove the enemy away from 
their guns into the plain. The Capuchin, 
Joachim Haspinger, took a leading part in this 
attack, and was seen every where performing 
extraordinary acts of courage and bravery, and 
doing great execution with his wooden crucifix. 
Once, however, his career had nearly been stop- 
ped, for a Bavarian soldier was about to run his 
bayonet through his body, when fortunately for 
him he was shot dead by a Tyrolese sharpshooter. 
Hofer advanced with the main body down 
the great road from Mount Isel towards the 



HISTORY OF HOFER. Ill 

town, by the abbey Miltau, in the midst of the 
enemy's posts. The Bavarian outposts were 
immediately carried, but the enemy returned to 
the charge with the greatest resolution, and in 
spite of the redoubled efforts of the Tyrolese, 
maintained their ground to the last man. 

It was one o'clock in the afternoon, when 
Teimer suddenly appeared on the heights of 
Hotting behind the town and in the rear of the 
enemy. The number of his followers was small, 
but a party of Tyrolese in Innspruck had agreed 
to send two companies and a six pounder to 
meet him; this reinforcement, however, found 
great difficulty in joining him, and even when 
they had effected their purpose were of little 
service to him. — It is probable that had Teimer 
appeared at an earlier hour he would have been 
able to unite his forces with the Tyrolese already 
engaged, and had he done so, the consequences 
of the battle might in the end have been much 
more beneficial to them ; but the delay was not 
owing to any want of activity on his part ; se- 
veral unlooked for accidents had befallen him, 
which unfortunately prevented his arriving 
sooner. 

The Bavarians, upon Teimer's appearance, col- 
lected their force and advanced in a strong 
body, with great resolution, towards Mount Isel : 



1 12 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

Colonel Ertel's troops, who had been partially 
dispersed, were collected in haste, and the 
Austrians as well as Tyrolese drew themselves 
up in a line prepared to meet the threatened 
attack of the enemy. The conflict immediately 
became general, and for some time was main- 
tained with great courage on both sides ; the 
Bavarians, by their discipline, had great advan- 
tages and stood their ground admirably ; but 
the Tyrolese sharpshooters who were dispersed 
amongst the rocks committed such havoc in the 
ranks that they several times gave way, but 
returned almost immediately to their former 
position. — Every moment the Tyrolese found 
their ammunition decrease, and were obliged to 
slacken their fire for fear of expending it all 
before a reinforcement could arrive. — In this 
emergency it was at length found necessary to 
send an officer with a trumpet to endeavour 
either to persuade the enemy to lay down their 
arms, or, at least, to desist from firing for a short 
time. — He was, however, not to appear as if it 
was an object of importance to the Tyrolese, 
but to describe, in the strongest manner, to the 
Bavarians their dangerous and critical situation. 
— His arguments had the desired effect — after 
being introduced twice to Deroy, he was told 
that they could not give him a decided answer, 



HISTORY OF H0FER. 113 

but they begged for a cessation of arms during 
twenty-four hours, that they might, in the mean 
time, come to a final resolution — after which 
they immediately retreated. 

During this interval, Colonel Ertelhad carried 
one of the enemy's outposts, by stratagem, and 
forced the piquets to retire to the suburbs, when 
the long wished for ammunition arrived over 
the Brenner. 

It was, however, at this time, too late to think 
of recommencing hostilities ; but had they done 
so, it was most probable that the Tyrolese would 
have had the advantage : even had they renewed 
the fight on the following day, the result would 
have been the same, for Teimer's force hourly 
increased in the rear of the enemy, while the 
bridges were destroyed in all directions, which 
made them eager to hasten their retreat. 

The Tyrolese performed wonders on this 
memorable clay, and undaunted by the vigorous 
and repeated attacks of the well disciplined 
army of the Bavarians, stood their ground firmly, 
and whenever an opportunity offered itself, 
rushed headlong upon the enemy, shouting their 
patriotic war cry " for God, the Emperor, and 
our native country," and carried all before them. 
— It is said that the wounded would not permit 
themselves to be attended to, because it would 



114 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

necessarily have employed a number of men to 
carry them off the field, and they were aware 
how small their force was, and how ill such 
assistance could be spared. 

Amongst the distinguished persons who lost 
their lives in this action, Count Johann of 
Stackelberg was particularly regretted. — He was 
the last count of that illustrious family, and 
died leaving an affectionate wife and three lovely 
daughters to deplore his loss. — He was an inti- 
mate friend of Hormayr, and had joined the 
insurgents principally on account of his affection 
for him, but had been a zealous supporter of the 
cause although he had constantly refused the 
command. He died gallantly storming the 
farm of Sarenthein, covered with wounds. The 
Tyrolese had also to regret the loss of the brave 
Captain Amman of the Chasseurs, who fell 
amongst the last that were killed ; his gallant 
conduct on that day will make his name long 
remembered in the Tyrol. The whole loss of 
the Tyrolese amounted to sixty-two killed and 
97 wounded. — That of the Austrians twenty-five 
killed and fifty-nine wounded. While the Ba- 
varians lost, on the 25th and 29th, 2,500 killed 
and wounded, 569 prisoners and missing, several 
baggage and ammunition waggons, and a con- 
siderable number of officers. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 115 

Hofer, although regardless of clanger, and 
certainly as courageous as any man in the army, 
took but little part in the active operations of 
the 29th ; he gave several unconnected orders 
to Eisenstecken, but remained himself in the 
public house till late in the day, regardless of the 
representations of his friends, and of the tumult 
with which he was surrounded. — It is to be 
regretted that a man who had already proved 
his courage, who was at that moment adored 
by his followers, and whose name is to this day 
revered throughout his native country, should 
have been so deficient in energy as to remain a 
tame spectator of an action in which he might 
have played so great a part, and which will ever 
be remembered with pride and satisfaction in 
the history of the Tyrol. — A solemn feast was 
instituted soon after the battle, to commemorate 
a victory which had liberated the Tyrol once 
more from the Bavarian yoke. 

The battle of the 29th May certainly formed 
one of the principal events of the war of 1809, 
not only from the extraordinary gallantry dis- 
played by the combatants, but because the 
communication between Germany and Italy 
was completely closed, so that the principal part 
of the Bavarian and Wurtemberg force was 
obliged to remain, for above a month after the 
final signature of the Znaimer treaty in the 



1 16 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

mountains of Salzburg, without being able to 
advance a step. — Such an advantage, had a proper 
use been made of it, might have been of essential 
service, not only to the Tyrol but to Austria 
itself. — Unfortunately, however, Austria had 
been intimidated by the success of the French, 
and had gone too far to recede ; so that while 
the Tyrolese gained everlasting honour by their 
conduct, they only brought upon themselves the 
redoubled wrath of Buonaparte, who, after he 
had conquered Austria was indignant at their 
continued resistance. 

As soon as it was dusk the Bavarians collected 
their whole force behind the town of Innspruck, 
with the greatest secrecy possible, and after 
taking the precaution of wrapping the horses 
feet and wheels of the canons in hay, to prevent 
their making a noise, they began their march a 
short time before midnight in the most profound 
silence over the Miihlauer bridge to Halle and 
Baumkirchen, and retreated without opposition 
below the ruins of Schwarz. — Major Loy had 
been ordered by Teimer to hasten with the 
landsturm of the neighbourhood to the narrow 
and woody defile of Mariastein to intercept them 
if possible.* 

* The Bavariaji Account of the Battle of the 29th of May. 
( In the mean time the number of the Insurgents was in- 
creased, and on the 29th, at nine in the morning, they fell 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 117 

At four o'clock the next morning Ertel en- 
tered Innspruck followed by crowds of peasants 

upon the corps at Innspruck., with a much larger force. The 
fight was severe and obstinate, — it lasted the whole day, in 
that part which borders upon the mountains with nearly equal 
success on both sides ; at last, about seven in the evening, the 
Insurgents were driven back on all sides ; but they continued 
in the vicinity, upon the mountains, where they could not be 
followed. 

' While this was going on, the inhabitants of the Upper 
Valley of the Inn, who had hitherto remained quiet and faithful 
to their repeated pledges, ran to arms : while those of Vints- 
chgau, and of the environs of Schwarz and Rattenberg, also 
rose in insurrection, together with the whole Lower Valley of 
the Inn. — By this means was intercepted all communication 
of our troops with Bavaria, and provisions cut off on all sides. 
' Supplies could not be obtained from those places which were 
occupied. The inhabitants of Innspruck, who, from their good 
conduct, did not deserve starvation, were in want of articles of 
the first necessity. The division had consumed the greater 
part of their provisions, and there were no means of obtaining 
more. These circumstances induced the General to order a 
retreat, which threatened every hour to become more difficult, 
by the Insurgents breaking down the bridges. The Austrian 
Commander thought fit to send an officer with a trumpeter to 
Lieutenant General Deroi, inviting him to surrender with his 
corps. This message received the answer it deserved. 

' The bridges over the Inn at Halle, Volders, Schwarz, and 
Rattenberg, could not be speedily repaired ; the inhabitants, 
who had been summoned to work at them, fired at the trum- 
peters and officers who were sent to them ; the First Lieu- 
tenant, Von Gunther, was killed at Rattenberg, when deli- 

3 



] 18 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

who flocked in indiscriminately and filled the 
town, and at nine o'clock Hofer marched in at 

vering his commission. — On that account the division could 
not effect its retreat by the high road ; they found it necessary 
to follow the left banks of the Inn, through woods and imprac- 
ticable mountains, while the rebels, who had fortified them- 
selves there, fired upon our troops. In spite of these obstacles, 
the division, by their courage and prudence, in two marches 
fortunately reached Kufstein, and took up a position at Rosen- 
heim, without losing their artillery, stores, or equipage, and 
without suffering any considerable loss of men. 

' The following is a copy of the Summons to surrender 5 sent 
to our troops during their march. 

c " To the Bavarian Commander in Innspruck. 

' " I am here with fifty thousand riflemen and soldiers, out of 
all Vintschgau and the Pusterthal. My comrade is at Berg Isel 
and its vicinity, with a force as considerable. I yesterday de- 
stroyed the corps of Count Von Arco at Scharnitz j scarcely 
did a few escape to carry the fatal tidings. — All the defiles of 
the Tyrol are occupied, there is no opportunity of escape. I 
therefore invite the Bavarian troops to an honourable capitu- 
lation, of which the security of their persons and the most 
brotherly treatment shall form the foundation. But if the mo- 
ment of clemency is allowed to pass by, blood may yet need- 
lessly flow. If I do not receive a satisfactory reply in half an 
hour, the work of slaughter shall begin again 5 and I swear 
that no quarter shall be given even to the last Bavarian soldier. 
(Signed) Teimer, 

Austrian Major and Commandant of the Tyrolese^ 
{ " Head Quarters of Krauef, 
written May 30. 

1 " P, S. This moment a courier has reached me from Schon- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 119 

the head of the men of the Passeyr Valley, 
with Joachim Haspinger and Peter. — During 
the same evening Hormayr came in sick and 
fatigued from his great exertions. Teimer 
pursued the flying enemy as far as Kufstein, 
and Speckbacher to Worgl, but with little suc- 
cess for they had advanced so rapidly, as to 
make pursuit useless. 

Immediately after the victory of the 29th of 
May, many of the peasants who had retired from 
the field in discontent rejoined the army, while 
several hundreds who had been made prisoners 
of war escaped and enrolled themselves again 
under the standard of their country. — Such an 

berg, in Carinthia, who brings me information that the French 
army at Vienna was annihilated on the 22d, 23d, and 24th ; 
that the Russians and Prussians have joined us, that the Arch- 
duke Ferdinand is already in Swabia, and must be in possession 
of Nuremberg, Augsburgh, Munich and Ulm. — It is certain 
that nine Austrian battalions have entered Bregenz, and that 
20,0Q0 inhabitants of the Vorarlberg are on their March. — Send 
an answer in half an hour or I will give the signal for a general 
attack." 

'This summons is quite sufficient to make known this Major 
Teimer, and to show how far these leaders of the insurgents 
cany their impudence to mislead an ignorant people by their 
unfounded reports, nattering themselves in their blindness 
that they may practise the same tricks upon the Bavarian 
troops.' 

i 4 



120 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

increase of force, while it must have appeared 
most formidable to the Bavarians, and have en- 
couraged those who were doubtful of the ulti- 
mate success of the Tyrolese arms, was a source 
of great perplexity to Hormayr and the rest of 
the chiefs, for although the aid of so much ad- 
ditional strength gave them satisfaction, they 
had neither the means of arming or clothing the 
new comers, without which, their assistance 
would have been comparatively useless. 

In this dilemma Hormayr resorted to the usual 
expedient, and issued the following proclama- 
tion. 

" The happy events which have taken place 
have set at liberty the greatest part of the pri- 
soners, which had fallen into the hands of the 
enemy. — These brave men, who have suffered so 
severely in the unprecedented and obstinate 
combat for the honour of the Austrians, have 
found a safe asylum in the Tyrol. 

" It is of the greatest importance to us to 
augment our force, which has been so much 
weakened in consequence of the retreat of F. 
M. Marquis Chastelar, while that of the Bava- 
rians continues to increase ; their discipline and 
experience also give them great advantages 
over us. 

" The whole stock of our military stores and 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 121 

clothing is exhausted, and without these neces- 
sary articles we shall be unable to attain our 
object. 

They, therefore, who wish well to their coun- 
try, must lend their assistance, at least for the 
moment, until a communication with the main 
army is rendered practicable, and an intercourse 
with the interior of Austria is again restored — 
an event which is of the greatest consequence 
to the welfare of the Tyrol, and which, after 
the memorable victories of the illustrious Arch- 
duke, cannot be far distant. 

" On this account every body, every true 
Tyrolean whose heart beats for the welfare and 
liberty of his country, is called upon in the most 
earnest manner, to send without delay all such 
arms, rifles, muskets, swords, cavalry saddles, 
&c. as they can spare, either to the appointed 
deputation or to head quarters, for which they 
shall, in proper time, be repaid. 

" The deputies and commandants are ordered 
to deliver all such stores as they receive with as 
much haste as possible, at Brixen, which being 
situated in the centre of the country, will serve 
as the magazine and rendezvous of all military 
stores, and from whence it will be easy to send 
in all directions such assistance as may be re- 
quired. 



122 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

" Without clothing, the troops will be as 
unable to carry on the war as they would be 
without arms. — These articles and implements 
of war are indispensable. Whoever, therefore, 
lends his assistance to alleviate our wants will 
render the most important service to his coun- 
try, &c. &c." 

This proclamation had the desired effect. 
The recent victory had roused a fresh spirit 
throughout the country, and every one exerted 
himself to contribute to the assistance of those 
who had already done so much, and who, they 
thought, with their aid, would gloriously attain 
the object they had so long and so nobly pursued. 

Count Triangi enabled them to arm a consi- 
derable number of men by taking possession of 
a large stand of arms belonging to the enemy at 
Perlach, near Clagenfurt. 

Hormayr in a short time received also several 
pieces of cannon, which were of the greatest im- 
portance, because being of a small size, he could 
place them in situations, and draw them through 
passes, which would have been impracticable to 
guns of greater weight. 

In spite of the contributions, however, which 
were levied throughout the country, the store of 
ammunition received by the end of May, was not 
nearly sufficient for the use of the Tyrolese, who 



HISTORY OF HOFER 123 

instead of husbanding the small quantity they 
possessed, took advantage of every wedding or 
festival that occurred, to fire feux-de-joie, and 
thus a considerable quantity of powder, which 
might have been of the greatest consequence to 
them afterwards was thoughtlessly wasted. 

The Tyrol had few resources in itself. Its 
own powder mills could make little at a time, 
and surrounded as the frontiers now were by 
enemies, it was exceedingly difficult to import 
powder if it could have been procured from 
other countries* ; but the want of money was 
in fact an insurmountable obstacle to any at- 
tempt of that sort. Austria was the only place 
to which they could look for succour, and Aus- 
tria herself had so many expenses to meet at 
this moment that she had not the means of 
giving them much assistance ; but to Austria the 
Tyrolese had always been accustomed to look 
for support, and now that they were struggling 
in her cause, they depended entirely upon her in 
all their difficulties. f 

* 275 cwt. of powder, which had been sent from Switzer- 
land, was seized by Talleyrand, the French Minister to the 
Helvetic Confederation at Coire, in the Grisons, and was in 
consequence lost to the Tyrolese. 

t The distress of the Tyrolese was much increased by the 
depredations which the Bavarians had committed upon their 



124 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

The Archduke John had indeed repeatedly 
declared his great affection for the Tyrol, and 
his determination of defending it to the last ex- 
tremity, acknowledging at the same time its 
consequence to Austria, and his gratitude for 
the attachment so repeatedly and so universally 
expressed to him hy the Tyrolese. It was natu- 
ral, therefore, that they should look to him for 
support, and Hormayr encouraged the belief that 
they would ere long receive it, although it is 
probable that at that very moment, he saw him- 
self how little possibility there was of their hopes 
being realized. Chastelar, however, exerted 
himself with great earnestness to procure money 
from his court for the relief of their distress; 
but his exertions (although very liberal promises 
were made to him) never had the desired effect. 
The loss of Vienna, the consequent interruption 
of all communications, and the danger with 
which Austria was threatened, were urged as 
insurmountable obstacles to the fulfilment of 
their promises.* 

convents. At any other time, the patriots would have found able 
and willing assistants in the opulent members of those ancient 
establishments, but now they were themselves so impoverished, 
that they were compelled to apply for support to their own ex- 
hausted government. 

* It was however suspected by many of the Tyrolese, that 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 125 

In spite of the difficulties he had to contend 
with, Hormayr never relaxed for a moment from 
his exertions ; but he found those difficulties in- 
crease daily, for as long as the people remained 
in a state of inactivity it was impossible to keep 
them in order. Unaccustomed as they were to 
any sort of military discipline, they could not 
be taught that the success of the cause depended 
as much upon their general conduct as upon 
their bravery in the moment of battle. 

Many hundreds who had left their homes to 
join the army now wandered idly about, com- 
mitting every sort of wanton excess, and, as will 
always happen in times of tumult, when the set- 
tled course of law must necessarily be in some 
degree impeded, even the more orderly part of 
the people imitated the example of the dissolute, 
and the inhabitants of some of the towns re- 
fused to pay the taxes and imposts. Hormayr 
therefore had not only to contend with an enemy 
superior to him both in numbers and experience, 
but with an insubordinate set of men on whom 

Chastelar and Hormayr had received considerable sums of 
money from the Austrian court, and had appropriated them 
to their own use. The whole conduct of these two men, and 
the noble disinterested manner in which they behaved through- 
out, is (I think) sufficient proof that these suspicions were 
equally unjust and improbable. 



126 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

he could not depend and over whom he had but 
little power. ' 

This disorderly state of things was increased 
by the vile intrigues of Malanotti, Kolb, Mayer, 
and others of the same description, w r ho were 
jealous of Hormayr and Hofer, and encouraged 
the people to rid themselves of every sort of 
restraint. The constitution established by the 
Bavarians still partially existed in the country, 
for although the Bavarian authorities were driven 
away, the same method was used to levy money 
as formerly, and the same system of government 
was pursued as that which had been originally 
introduced by them. This was a source of con- 
tinual irritation to the people, who declared that 
they would submit to nothing Bavarian, and as 
their wants increased, instead of listening to the 
representations of Hormayr, they lived upon 
the plunder they could extort from their own 
countrymen ; so that every day their situation 
became more desperate and the difficulty of re- 
lieving it greater. 

In the beginning of June a quantity of silver 
was coined at Halle, which produced 3000 
florins; and every means were emploj^ed to 
borrow money from the neighbouring countries, 
in order to meet the increased expenses of the 
army ; but the bad success of the Austrian arms 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 127 

created an unwillingness to lend, for it was 
natural to suppose that the Bavarians, on repos- 
sessing the Tyrol, would refuse to repay a loan 
which had been raised to enable the Tyrolese to 
carry on war against themselves. Hormayr 
was therefore at length compelled to mortgage 
his own possessions in the Tyrol, in order to 
raise a sum, which, from its trifling amount, 
could only afford temporary alleviation to the 
distress which was daily increasing. 

Hofer in the mean time was applied to by 
Hormayr in all emergencies; the cool deter- 
mination with which he acted on all occasions, 
his zeal for the cause, and, above all, the sort of 
idolatry with which he was looked up to by the 
Tyrolese, gave him more weight than any of the 
other chiefs, and Hormayr was well aware how 
serviceable his aid would be in all moments of 
mutiny or discontent. At the beginning of the 
war he commanded the whole armed force of his 
native valley, and after the battle of Innspruck 
he was made Commander-in-Chief of the whole 
of the South of the Tyrol. He had by his zeal 
and undeviating adherence to the cause fully 
justified the expectations of Hormayr, who, 
when he selected him from amongst his country- 
men, was aware of the contracted ideas, and 
limited knowledge he possessed, but felt con- 



128 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

fident that, from his extraordinary character, he 
would become popular, and render him, perhaps, 
more real service than a man of brilliant talents 
or more enlightened mind. 

According to the Bavarian accounts, the Ty- 
rol ese force in June did not exceed 10,000 men, 
and of those some were men advanced in years, 
and many boys scarcely fit to carry arms ; but 
it is probable that after the battle of Berg Isel 
their force was larger, as far as can be conjec- 
tured from the accounts of the numbers that 
joined the insurgent army ; the great difficulty 
was not only to arm, but to organize this addi- 
tional strength, for to some who were accus- 
tomed only to the labours of the field, the use 
of a musket was unknown, and to those who had 
passed their lives as Chamois hunters, wandering 
wherever their inclinations might lead them, 
the restraint of military discipline was inde- 
scribably irksome. In the heat of battle both 
were equally courageous, equally inveterate 
against their enemies, and anxious to surpass 
each other in deeds of gallantry ; but it could not 
be expected that the wild and uncontrouled 
bravery of a few ill-armed Chamois hunters 
would long withstand the superior force and 
discipline of the Bavarian army. 

Destitute as he was of means, Hormayr could 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 129 

not hope to bribe them by an increase of pay or 
additional allowance of food; neither threats 
nor entreaties had any effect upon them, except 
when the enemy were in sight, and then it was 
equally difficult to restrain their impetuosity. 
Hofer was of considerable service on this occa- 
sion ; for although he, in common with the rest 
of his countrymen, disliked restraint, he was 
obliged to obey Hormayr as his superior, and 
willing to serve him as his friend, and his in- 
fluence with the peasants persuaded them in 
many instances to attend to their duties. 

Every exertion still continued to be used to 
find money and provisions ; Bavaria, from whom 
the Tyrolese had been accustomed to look for 
support in a time of scarcity, was closed to them, 
so that as their only resource they compelled all 
the citizens who refused, or were unable to carry 
arms, to contribute a share of provisions or 
money to the support of the army, and those 
who were too poor to commute their services for 
such a payment were obliged to join the insur- 
gents. 

In this desperate situation of the Tyrol, sur- 
rounded almost on every side by enemies, dis- 
tressed for provisions and money, and agitated 
internally by the discontent and disaffection of 

K 



130 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

those who ought to have defended it, there 
seemed little prospect of carrying on the war 
with success. But notwithstanding these diffi- 
culties the cause was not abandoned. 

At this moment Uzschneider, Bavarian di- 
rector of the salt mines, first appeared, and by 
his uncommon activity, and talent for writing 
those wild proclamations which were so attrac- 
tive to the Tyrolese peasants, he added much to 
the perplexities in which Hormayr and the other 
patriot chiefs were involved. The letters which 
he distributed round the country had an asto- 
nishing effect in encreasing and encouraging 
the discontent of the peasants. Some of these, in 
which he complained unjustly of the excesses 
committed by the Tyrolese, in the neighbour- 
hood of Kufstein, and of the general barbarity 
with which, as he affirmed, they had treated the 
Bavarian prisoners, were addressed personally to 
Hormayr, who returned the following answer : 

" Sir, 
" I have received your two letters of the 22d 
of June and 3d of July, by means of my ad- 
vanced guard, as well as those which you gave 
yourself the trouble to write to several intrepid 
patriots. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 131 

" I have no other answer to make than that I 
am equally devoted to the welfare of the Im- 
perial House of Austria as you are to the King 
and Princes of Bavaria. 

" What you say of the excesses committed in 
the district of Kufstein afflicts me. But to that 
I can only answer that I have made it my most 
sacred duty to prevent such excesses as far as 
has been in my power. 

" The inhuman brutality with which the Ba- 
varian soldiers have treated not only the armed, 
but the defenceless old men, women, and child- 
ren, as well as the sick and wounded in the 
hospital at Schwaz, does not, I allow, entitle 
the Tyrolese to follow their example. 

" I have fortunately prevented all such con- 
duct where I have been personally present ; and 
be assured that I will punish it severely wherever 
it has happened in my absence. My intercession 
on the 14th of April saved more than one Ba- 
varian bailiff from death, and their families from 
insult. Receive at present my word of honour 
for the kind treatment of the eleven hundred 
prisoners of war now w T ith us in Etschland. 

" A man of your understanding must laugh 
at so absurd an invention, as that the Tyrolese 
have murdered a single Bavarian or French pri- 

k 2 



132 HISTORY OF II0FER/ 

soner of war. Upon the subject of the violation 
of martial law, we have both a word to say. 

" I should do wrong, however, to attribute to 
my own endeavours the good conduct of my 
nation on this subject. The Commandant-Ge- 
neral, Baron Von Buol, who distinguished him- 
self so much by his bravery at Kehl, Verona, 
Marengo, and Memmingen, would blush to 
serve in a country where such deeds were com- 
mitted, would despise those vallies, where, from 
the 13th to the 29th of May, the Bavarians have 
experienced the force of our arms. 

" I have therefore merely to acknowledge the 
receipt of your papers, and to return the same 
remonstrance on our part, with the assurance 
of the high consideration and esteem I have 
for you. 

" Joseph Baron Hormayr, 
8sc. 8sc. 8?c" 

A proclamation of Uzschneider's, which fell 
into the hands of Baron Taxis about this time, 
is very characteristic of his manner. The fol- 
lowing is an extract : 

"Inhabitants of the Tyrol! 

" You know me as Director-General of the 
Salt Mines at Halle. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 133 

" I come to you now as a messenger of peace; 
when you wished for peace you rose up against 
the Bavarians — you involved your native country 
in war and sedition, because they made you be- 
lieve that the Austrian troops would be able to 
protect you. 

" The inexhaustible power of France, and the 
talents of Napoleon are irresistible, they have 
already detained the whole Austrian army during 
four weeks in Bohemia. 

" The French are already in possession of 
Salzburg, Upper and Lower Austria, Vienna, 
Carinthia, Steyermach, and Hungary, as far as 
Ofen. The Russians and Poles are advancing 
to Gallicia. 

" Austria can assist you no longer ; the whole 
weight of the war will fall upon yourselves. 
Several times have hostile troops appeared in 
your vallies, who have treated you as rebels to 
your lawful king ; had you remained faithful to 
him, you would not have seen these troops in 

the Tyrol. 

■> 

" You still continue to rebel against Bavaria ; 
your country is at war with France! What will 
become of you? Do you not see how the troops 
increase on all sides of you ; what force from 
France and from the Rhine — from Italy ! These 

K 3 



134 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

troops will act against you, if you do not imme- 
diately return to your duty and your legitimate 
king. Through your own misconduct you bring 
these troops into your vallies, and endless misery 
upon your own heads. Your prosperity is, 
then, annihilated by yourselves for many, many 
years. 

" You calculate in vain that Austria will sup- 
port you; what can Austria? What can a 
sinking power, who herself wants assistance, do 
for you ? 

" Tyroleans ! consider your present situation, 
surrounded as you are by irritated enemies. 

"His Majesty the King of Bavaria is your 
legitimate master ; he wishes for your welfare, 
and his heart will bleed when he finds it neces- 
sary to force you into your duty. 

" He promises — that all those who return to 
their duty shall be pardoned ; that those whose 
property has been plundered shall be supported," 
&c. &c. &c. 

Chastelar, during the battles of Innspruck and 
Hohenems, remained in the Drauthal, anxious 
to break into Carinthia and join the Archduke 
John, which he had been prevented from doing 
in the beginning of May, by the unnecessary 
delay of General Schmidt, who, if he had obeyed 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 135 

the Archduke's orders, would have been able to 
open a free passage to the whole army. 

The main body, consisting of the whole regi- 
ment of Johann Jellachich, two battalions of 
Hohenlohe Bartenstein, four small squadrons of 
Hohenzoller, the Carinthian Militia, a company 
of Chasseurs, and a large body of Tyrolese Vo- 
lunteers who composed the advanced guard, 
advanced up the Drauthal. General Schmidt, 
who commanded the right wing, was to march in 
the direction of St. Hermagor, straight through 
the Gailthal, in order to cut off the communica- 
tion between Tarvis and Villach. General 
Fenner, with the left, advanced from Spital over 
Treffen, in order to come in the rear of the ene- 
my. Villach was the first point to be attacked. 
On the 4th of June a brisk skirmish took place 
near the bridge of the Drauthal. General 
Rusca retired to Clagenfurt, where he took up 
his position, and on the 5th June the whole of 
the Austrian force appeared before that place, 
and several shots were fired. Some prisoners 
were taken on the same day, among whom was 
Colonel Tascher, nephew of the Empress Jose- 
phine, and son of General Grenier ; from papers 
in his possession it appeared that General Mar- 
mont was rapidly advancing from Dalmatia, 

k 4 



136 HISTORY OF HO FEU. 

through Clagenfurt and Bruck, in order to join 
the main army at Vienna. It was, therefore, 
immediately decided to attack Clagenfurt, and 
the command of the enterprise was given to 
Baron Beyder. There were at the moment 
numbers of Austrian prisoners who bivouacked 
in the middle of the streets, and who would have 
joined the besiegers as soon as they had obtained 
an entrance into the town. In the dusk of the 
evening a breach in the wall of the dry ditch was 
discovered, which had been repaired with a single 
wall of bricks, through which a passage was soon 
made for the entrance of the troops. Every thing 
was in readiness, but the design was unfortu- 
nately prevented by the usual tardiness of Gene- 
ral Schmidt, who was not yet come up, and who 
did not arrive till day break, when it would at 
all events have been too late to put their scheme 
in execution had not the enemy discovered their 
design. Early in the morning the enemy com- 
menced a heavy cannonade from the town, and 
soon after made a sortie, in which, after a very 
severe contest, they lost a considerable number 
of men, but General Schmidt found it necessary 
to retreat again to the Pusterthal. Marmont 
was however so much alarmed at the unexpected 
appearance of Chastelar, that he retired hastily 



HISTORY OF HQFER. 137 

over Loibel, and marched backwards and for- 
wards during several days between Krayburg 
and Laibach, undetermined what plan to adopt. 
Chastelar proceeded in his march by Volker- 
markt, Windischgratz, Hoheneck, and Gono- 
vitz, and on the 9th of June joined the 9th divi- 
sion of the army under Count Ignaz Giulay 
Bannus, and Rochitsch, and a few days after- 
wards effected a junction with the little army of 
Archduke John. 

In the beginning of July, Rusca quitted Cla- 
genfurt, and advanced towards Vienna, to join 
the main army following the route of the Vice- 
roy Beauharnois, Macdonald, and Marmont. 
On the 4th he halted at Knittefeld, and on the 
5th, General Gavassini met him, and showed 
an inclination to attack him. On the 6th 
General Felner reached Leoben, and Colonel 
Salamon marched with two battalions to Vortz- 
berg, leaving seventy horse in Weiskirchen. 
Felner, however, neglected to place piquets, 
and during the night Rusca appeared before 
Leoben, forced the bridge and gates, and took 
possession of the town. In the action Felner 
was killed, and the whole of his corps dispersed. 
In the mean time Gavassini remained at St. 
Ruprecht, while Rusca evacuated Leoben after 



138 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

having levied a contribution, and retreated to 
Kraubat. Had Gavassini immediately advanced, 
it is probable that he might have retaken Leo- 
ben, made Rusca prisoner, and dispersed his 
troops, but by his want of decision the opportu- 
nity was lost. 

Hormayr, who felt of what importance the 
possession of such a place as Clagenfurt would 
be to the xlustrians, and, consequently to the 
Tyrolese, had formed a plan for the capture of 
it, which if he could have attempted it, would 
very probably have met with success ; 2500 men 
were in readiness to march under General 
Schmidt, and 5000 Tyrolese volunteers had put 
themselves under the command of Hofer, eager 
for the adventure. Nothing was wanting but 
the co-operation of the pth division of the main 
army, but they delayed the execution of the 
plan day after day until the cessation of arms 
had taken place, when it was too late; and 
the only advantage that Hormayr derived from 
the conception of a plan whose success might 
have proved so beneficial to the cause, was, that 
several of the discontented Tyrolese were for 
a time tranquillized by the prospect of active 
service. 

On the 5th of June, Hormayr hastened with 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 139 

Baron Taxis and the Engineer Baron Hauser to 
Brixlegg and Rattenberg, where they met the 
chiefs of the lower valley of the Inn, and with 
them formed plans for the organisation of a new 
force. Hofer followed them, accompanied by 
Eisenstecken, the two Capuchins, and deputies 
from several vallies in the Tyrol. At this time 
the Inn was so swollen that it was in many 
places dangerous to cross ; and as the bridges 
were all destroyed, they were obliged to effect 
their passage by means of stilts and long poles, 
with which they balanced themselves. The 
country, which a few w T eeks before had been in 
a state of the highest cultivation, and the vil- 
lages which were in the neatest order, now pre- 
sented on every side a scene of ruin and desola- 
tion, too painful for the eyes of a native of the 
Tyrol — the promising crops destroyed, and the 
wretched inhabitants of the once peaceful vil- 
lages were seen wandering over the country 
bewailing the loss of their homes and the ruin of 
their expected harvests. 

The blockade of Kufstein meanwhile conti- 
nued under the command of the Deputy In- 
tendant Roschman, whose force was daily in- 
creased by his activity, and its discipline improved 
by his care and attention. 



MO HISTORY OF HOFER. 

In the upper valley of the Inn nothing of any 
consequence occurred. Count Max Arco re- 
mained at Benedictbeuern with his corps, in 
order to keep open the communication through 
the Iserthal from Scharnitz to Munich, while 
Fuessen was blockaded by some small divisions 
of the corps de reserve, in order to preserve the 
pass of Reitti, and General Piccard was ordered 
forwards with the Wurtembergers by Hofen to 
the Vorarlberg. 

The chiefs of the Veltlin insurgents had con- 
tributed from 200 to 300 regular troops, 1,200 
peasants, and one six-pounder. This body was 
already in motion by Meran; Captain Muller, of 
the chasseurs, leading the regulars, and Major 
Frischman the Tyrol ese. 

The great deficiency of the Tyrolese was in 
cavalry ; for although a force of that description 
was unnecessary in their own mountainous 
country, where their method of warfare gave 
them perhaps an advantage over more regular 
troops, it was impossible for them to gain any 
decisive success in the extensive and open plains 
of Bavaria and Swabia ; but it was owing at the 
same time to this very deficiency, that the partial 
advantages which they gained in their occasional 
incursions into those countries raised their repu- 
tation higher in the opinion of their enemies, be- 



HISTORY OF HOFEIl. 141 

cause they could only be attributed to their 
natural courage and intrepidity. 

An enterprise of this description was proposed 
at the end of June, and the attempt was to be 
made from all parts of the country at once. The 
Vorarlbergers, who, on the 13th, had defeated 
the Wurtembergers at Hobranz, were to advance 
to Kempten, and on taking that place, to endea- 
vour to form a junction Avith Teimer, who was 
to pass by Fuessen to Schongau; and Major 
Dietrich, advancing by Ettal, Murnau and Weil- 
heim, was to assist the communication, while 
Baron Taxis was to force a passage by Kochell 
and Benedictbeuern, connect the line by Mur- 
nau, and extend himself to the right towards 
Tolz and Clagenfurt; Count Leiningen towards 
Trent and Verona. 

In the Vorarlberg there were 20,000 men 
under arms prepared for this expedition, while 
the whole of the Tyrolese force did not amount 
to near that number. 

Unfortunately for the result of the enterprise 
the enemy had by some means received intelli- 
gence of the intention, and were prepared every 
where for resistance. Teimer, by some mistake, 
advanced too much to the right instead of join- 
ing the Vorarlbergers, and from his ignorance 
of the geography of the country, exposed him- 



142 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

self to considerable clanger by falling in with 
the division of Count Max Arco. He narrowly 
escaped being made prisoner. By this unforeseen 
disaster the right flank of the Vorarlbergers was 
left exposed. They sustained a trifling loss of 
killed and wounded and two small pieces of can- 
non, for the division under Captain Juritsch 
came up too late to assist them, and their too 
great eagerness had led them to engage early in 
the day. Schneider, who commanded them, 
behaved with great intrepidity and coolness, and 
it is probably owing to his conduct that the loss 
was so trifling. Thus a plan, which had it suc- 
ceeded, might have led eventually to the entire 
liberation of the Tyrol, was frustrated, partly 
by mismanagement, and partly by the superior 
force and activity of the enemy ; no other alter- 
native remained for them but to retire in good 
order after having possessed themselves of Kemp- 
ten, Isny and Wangen, and taking with them 
from Constance six pieces of cannon and two am- 
munition waggons, some hundreds of prisoners, 
360 sacks of corn and a large quantity of wine. 
During these operations in the north, Count 
Leiningen was actively employed in the south. 
He had taken Bassano by storm, when a detach- 
ment was dispatched against him from Brescia, 
consisting of 1,400 foot and 140 horse, who ad- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 143 

vanced by Roveredo towards Matarello in hopes 
of being able to cut him off and retake Trent ; 
but he was prepared for them, and drove them 
tack to Roveredo in great disorder. On the 6th 
of June, a second detachment of 1,700 foot, £00 
horse, and 6 guns, advanced to Trent, under 
Levier, chef de Brigade, who having made himself 
master of the suburb of Fersina, summoned the 
town to surrender, and upon Leiningen's refusal, 
proceeded to bombard it. A courier was imme- 
diately dispatched to Hormayr, who was still at 
Brixlegg,to inform him of their perilous situation, 
and to demand his assistance ; upon which he 
hastened with Hofer to their relief; but another 
courier met them at Botzen, with intelligence 
that the enemy had retired. 

On the 6th of June the whole of the force in 
the lower Tyrol advanced from Lavis in three co- 
lumns ; Schlager, of Hohenzollern, led the right 
wing; Captain Hubler, the main body, and 
Lieutenant Kukuli remained with the left 
wing in the mountains, in order to cut off 
the enemy on the road behind Fersina, and 
force them to retreat; while Captain Auerbeck, 
of the chasseurs, attacked them in the rear and 
completely defeated them. They retired in great 
disorder, having lost about 1,200 killed and 
wounded and 150 prisoners. This was the last 



144 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

action of any consequence which took place in 
the south of the Tyrol. The enemy made se- 
veral incursions as far as Valsugana, where they 
distinguished themselves by the most revolting 
acts of cruelty, but were in general repulsed by 
the peasantry without the assistance of any mi- 
litary force ; and the few skirmishes of Leinin- 
gen in the mountains had no result of any con- 
sequence. 

In the midst of these active operations in the 
Tyrol, intelligence was received of the decisive 
battle of Wagram, and the subsequent armistice 
between the French and Austrians, an event 
which was equally unexpected and disheartening 
to the Tyrol ese. The news reached Hormayr 
at Innspruck on the 17th July, but in so doubt- 
ful a manner that he was not at first inclined to 
give credit to it ; but the report had spread a 
panic amongst the Tyrolese, who saw themselves 
in consequence compelled either to submit again 
to the yoke of Bavaria, or to continue the con- 
test against the conquerors of Austria without 
the possibility of being supported by those on 
whom they had till now depended. Many of 
the insurgents, as was usual in all cases of diffi- 
culty, gave up the cause as lost, and retired to 
their homes to await the event, while others 
more zealous or more desperate, seemed to have 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 145 

redoubled their ardour, and expressed themselves 
determined to spill the last drop of their blood 
rather than submit to Bavaria. 

General Buol meanwhile remained at Brixen 
in a state of the most perplexing uncertainty. 
He received orders from the Duke of Dantzig 
to evacuate the Tyrol, as hostilities had ceased, 
and a stipulation to this effect had been made in 
the armistice which was just concluded; but 
from his own government he had received no 
orders to that effect, nor indeed any official inti- 
mation of an armistice. He therefore refused to 
alter his present position. Hormayr, who had 
received a command from Angles, Intendant at 
Salzburg, to surrender the Tyrol to Bavaria, and 
compel the Tyrolese to lay down their arms, re- 
turned for answer, that until he was commanded 
to do so' by the Court of Austria, he would not 
yield a single foot of ground. Their doubts, 
however, were soon cleared up, and the unwel- 
come report of the fatal day of Wag-ram proved 
to be too well founded. The armistice was con- 
cluded at Znaim on the 12th of July, and it was 
agreed that the Austrian troops who were then 
in the Tyrol and Vorarlberg should immediately 
evacuate those countries ; but the insurgents 
refused to acknowledge the agreement, and cle- 



146 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

clared that they would submit to nothing but 
the orders of the Emperor of Austria, who had 
affirmed that he would accede to no peace that 
did not ensure to him the possession of the 
Tyrol, and they would not permit the Austrian 
troops to leave the country. 

One of the most violent amongst those who 
refused to accede to the armistice was a man 
named Kolb, who not only expressed his deter- 
mination of using every means in his power to 
detain the Austrians, but proposed to General 
Buol that he should put to death all the pri- 
soners then in his hands. He had taken up his 
quarters at Lienz, and intercepted all the dis- 
patches indiscriminately, whether Austrian or 
French, took several officers prisoners, and de- 
clared every one who would not stand by him, 
a traitor to his country. Hormayr, who had 
foreseen that the indignation of the patriots 
would vent itself upon the unfortunate pri- 
soners, used every exertion, as soon as he was 
convinced that an armistice had really taken 
place, to secure to them a safe retreat out of the 
country, and by his interference the greatest 
part of them escaped unhurt ; some few, how- 
ever, were unfortunate enough to fall victims to 
the ungovernable rage of the peasantry. 



HISTORY OF HOFER, 147 

Eisenstecken, Martin Schenk, and Peter Mayer 
were Kolb's principal confederates, but their de- 
signs were neither of so sanguinary, nor so wild 
a nature as his ; they were equally eager to detain 
the Austrian troops, but their first object was to 
seize the ammunition, and tempt the privates to 
desert to their cause, to disavow all the officers 
who opposed their intentions, and to send them 
with Hormayr and Buolout of the country. Lien- 
ingen they looked upon as a person who would 
probably join them, and to Hofer they looked as 
a chief who would lead them on, and probably 
enable them to effect the liberation of their 
country, without the assistance of the Austrians 
who had now deserted them. 

Hofer himself shortly appeared amongst them, 
and declared that he was willing to accept the 
office of Commander-in-Chief if they wished to 
confer it on him, but if they preferred Lieningen 
he was prepared to draw his sword as simple 
commandant of the Passeyr Valley, but that 
in whatever situation it pleased God to place 
him he would sacrifice his life for the cause in 
which he was engaged, and that he was confident 
the Emperor of Austria would not desert them, 
but return as soon as he was able to their as- 
sistance. This declaration was received with 
shouts of approbation, and Hofer from that 

12 



148 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

moment became Commander-in-Chief of the 
Tyrolese*. 

His first care was to organise a fresh force 
sufficient to defend his country, and in a short 
time hundreds of peasants flocked to his standard, 
partly from a sort of confidence that they had 
in his powers, and partly from the hope that the 
discipline of his army would be less strict than 
that which had hitherto been so irksome to them, 
so that he found himself at the head of a formi- 
dable body of men, all prepared to follow him 
and sacrifice their lives in his service. 

At the same time hundreds of the Austrian 
troops deserted to him daily. They had begun 
their march with the intention of leaving the 
country, but were prevented by the Tyrolese, who 
persuaded them to remain and join their army. 
In Etschland, Colonel Taxis was deserted by 
nearly the whole of his corps, who, upon Hofer's 
appearance marched quietly out to meet him, 
and neither threats nor entreaties could recall 
them. The whole of the troops in the Vorarl- 
berg declared unanimously that they would 
never abandon their brothers the Tyrolese, so 
that in a few days the whole country was once 



* His vanity on this occasion carried him so far that he is 
said to have caused his initials to be stamped on a new coin. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 149 

more in a state of insurrection from one end to 
the other. 

On the 9th of August all the Austrians who 
had not deserted to the insurgents had left the 
Tyrol; those who remained being about 600 
men with several officers. General Schmidt 
delivered up the Fort of Sachsenburg to Rusca, 
according to the stipulation of the armistice. 

No one felt more deeply the painful situation 
of the Tyrolese at this time than the Archduke 
John ; he had always been particularly interested 
in their welfare, and the following extract from 
a letter, addressed by him to General Buol, 
shows clearly what were his feelings at that 
moment. 

" I enclose you a copy of the armistice con- 
cluded by the army of Germany ; you will see 
by the 4th Article that the Tyrol must be im- 
mediately evacuated, but it does not appear that 
this would be necessary supposing it to be occu- 
pied by French or Bavarian troops. This armis- 
tice has astonished me ; but, alas ! it is too true, 
and the enemy will doubtless press for the per- 
formance of the conditions. His Majesty, who 
is with me here, is particularly concerned that 
on account of this armistice the dear Tyrol 
which was occupied by us must be evacuated. 
He is concluding negociations in order to shorten 

l3 



150 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

the misery of the present moment, and to esta- 
blish stipulations from which he will not swerve. 
A few days will shew whether peace or renewed 
hostility will be the consequence. His Majesty 
will do alt in his power for the Tyrol, and if pos- 
sible will keep it for himself, or at least if he is 
compelled to resign it, will make such agree- 
ments as shall secure the Tyrolese from being 
punished for their fidelity and the sacrifices they 
have made to him; and in case of emergency, 
he offers an asylum to the chiefs who are inclined 
to settle in the Austrian dominions. This is all 
I can learn from the conversations which I have 
had with his Majesty ; my own opinion of the 
actual state of the Tyrol is as follows : I foresee 
how difficult it will be to make the inhabitants, 
who have done so much, comprehend the neces- 
sity of our leaving the country; but we promise, 
in the event of peace, to take care of them, and 
of war to support and protect them. The first 
demands their submission, the second their as- 
sistance. In the first moment of anger they 
will either allow the troops to depart, and curs- 
ing those who have deserted them, listen to the 
propositions of the Bavarians, or they will refuse 
to permit the Austrians to leave the country. 
In either case we have a difficult game to play; 
our first object is to gain time. The armistice 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 151 

was to continue for a month according to the 
7th Article of the Treaty ; nine days have al- 
ready elapsed ; so that the negociations which 
have already commenced will soon prove whe- 
ther we are to expect peace or a renewal of 
hostilities. In the event of peace we shall soon 
know the fate of the Tyrol, but on the recom- 
mencement of war we should be obliged to recall 

. Jjt- J/- £U *Y- A&r * v - -V- 4tr *i£- -^- *V- 

" Meanwhile all that w r e can do is to endea- 
vour to gain time and tranquillize the minds of 
the inhabitants as much as possible. 

" General Buol will command the whole of the 
troops, and Baron Hormayr will remain either 
with him or General Schmidt according to cir- 
cumstances ; but it is advisable at all events that 
these two commanders should act together, that 
by being able to apply to each other for advice, 
they may do nothing rashly. You have both a 
difficult part to act, but silence is above all things 
necessary; your secret must remain impenetra- 
ble, that your intentions may not be discovered, 
or the consequences might be dreadful. The 
accounts you send me must be by the safest 
possible conveyances, that they may not run the 
danger of being intercepted." 

" Archduke John." 
" Head Quarters, St. Grotk, 
Z\ st July, 1809." 



152 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

On the receipt of the above letter General 
Buol published the following proclamation, and 
immediately begun his march to the frontiers : 

" Tyroleans and Vorarlbergers ! 

" An Austrian courier has brought from the 
head quarters of his Imperial Highness the 
Archduke John, the confirmation of the intelli- 
gence that an armistice had been concluded on 
the 12th of this month, by the 4th Article of 
which the whole of the Austrian troops now in 
the Tyrol and Vorarlberg are compelled to eva- 
cuate those countries. 

" The distresses of the army, and the unplea- 
sant appearance of political events have induced 
his Majesty to take a step which has given him 
so much pain ; the greatest care, however, will 
be taken of the Tyrolese. The Archduke John 
has given us the most positive assurance of it. 

" With this promise, the Tyrolese are exhorted 
to submit peaceably, that the country may be 
spared the horrors which would infallibly be 
drawn upon it by their continued resistance. 

" I am compelled, according to my orders, to 
leave the country, and consequently you can no 
longer depend upon me for support. Let me 
then entreat you to submit with patience to the 
will of Providence. 

" I have recommended the Tyrolese to the 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 153 

protection of Field Marshal the Duke of Dant- 
zig, whose army is destined to act against the 
Tyrol. 

" Your own conduct will have the greatest 
influence over him, and it depends upon your- 
selves either to promote the welfare or destruc- 
tion of your country. 

" With a heavy heart, and gratitude for your 
early assistance, I find myself compelled to make 
this communication to you. 

" Baron Buol." 
"Brixen, Q9th July, 1809." 

Hormayr, who had struggled so long for his 
country, who had in spite of the discontent of 
the people, and of the difficulties which were 
opposed to him, carried on the war with so much 
success for some time, felt most acutely the 
situation in which the Tyrolese were now placed. 
Still anxious to preserve them from the Bavari- 
ans, but dreading the consequences of continued 
opposition to their power, he scarcely knew how 
to act. His immediate object was to quell the 
increasing irritation of the peasantry ; he used 
his utmost endeavours to persuade Hofer not 
only to abandon his project of carrying on so 
hopeless a war, but to accompany the Austrians 
in their departure from the country. With 



154 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

Hofer, however, his persuasion had no effect 
Speckbacher, Sieberer, Aschbacher, and Frisch- 
man resolved to follow him, but Speckbacher, in 
an interview with Hofer, in which he had in- 
tended to take leave of him, was persuaded to 
remain ; and Hormayr, accompanied by a very 
few friends, left his country to maintain its strug- 
gle for liberty under the direction of Hofer. 

Hofer, with all his courage, and with the 
numerous advantages which he possessed, was 
not equal to the command to which he had been 
called by the unanimous voice of his country- 
men ; it was rather under his influence than his 
direction that the war was carried on. His want 
of decision at the moment when he found him- 
self deserted by the Austrians, was too evident 
a proof of his inability to direct so large a force, 
for from the 29th of July until the 2d of Au- 
gust, although every thing was in a state of 
preparation, and the peasants were in arms 
throughout the country, no active measures of 
hostility were undertaken, and Hofer remained 
concealed in the valley of Passeyr, without ex- 
erting himself to promote the success of his own 
projects. 

Haspinger, the Capuchin, who had retired to 
his convent near Brixen, immediately after the 
victory at Berg Isel, on the 29th of May, and 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 155 

to whom the people came for advice in the ab- 
sence of Hofer, was equally irresolute how to 
act. He seemed to think that, without the aid 
of the Austrians, all the resistance that they 
could make against the overwhelming power of 
the enemy would prove fruitless, and although 
equally inveterate against the government of 
Bavaria with the rest of his countrymen, he 
hesitated to resume his station, and to take an 
active part in a cause which he now considered 
hopeless. His attachment to his country, and 
his desire to see it free, at length however pre- 
vailed, and on the 2d of August* he appeared 
at the Inn at Brixen. Haspinger here found 
three of the principal actors in the subsequent 
war (who had pledged themselves mutually to 
sacrifice their lives in the struggle for the liberty 
of their country rather than abandon so holy a 
cause), Martin Schenk, who was the friend and 
confident of Hofer and Eisenstecken, Peter 
Kemmater, and Peter Mayer f. With these 

* From that day he always went by the name of Rothbart 
—Red Beard. 

f The last of these men, who was particularly inveterate 
against the Bavarians, was tried by a court-martial, and shot at 
Botzen, in February, 1810, for having carried arms after the 
proclamation issued in the month of November preceding, by 
Eugene Beauharnois, at Villach. In his last moments, as the 



156 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

men Haspinger concerted his plans of attack, 
and hostilities immediately commenced. 

On the 4th of August Haspinger led a strong 
body of Tyrolese against the combined forces of 
the French and Saxons, who were in the Eisack- 
thal, under the command of General Rouyer. 
The action lasted from an early hour in the 
morning until four in the afternoon ; and from 
the havoc occasioned by the well directed aim of 
the Tyrolese sharpshooters, as well as the despe- 
rate resistance of the whole force, the enemy 
sustained considerable loss, according to their own 
account 1200 men, and 53 officers. Amongst 
these was the Saxon Colonel, Baron Hennings, 
who died of his wounds at Brixen, two days 
after the battle. One extraordinary method of 
destruction used by the Tyrolese on this occa- 
sion ought not to be omitted. They had, by the 
direction of Haspinger, felled several enormous 
larch trees, upon which they piled large masses 
of rock, and heaps of rubbish; the whole being- 
supported by strong cords, by means of which 
they were suspended over the edge of a preci- 
pice. During the action the Tyrolese decoyed 
a body of the enemy's troops, by appearing to 

soldiers were about to fire, he took a small crucifix which he 
always wore next his heart, and delivered it to a by-stander, 
" because," he said,' "it might perhaps turn the bullets." 



HISTORY OF H0FER. 157 

retreat, immediately under the spot, when in an 
instant the ropes were cut, and the whole struc- 
ture came thundering down upon the heads of 
the unfortunate troops beneath. Few had time 
to escape ; the principal part of them were in- 
stantly crushed to death ; a death-like stillness 
succeeded to the tremendous noise of the falling 
avalanche, which was alone interrupted by the 
dreadful shrieks of those who were perishing in 
the ruins. For a moment the firing ceased on 
both sides, but was soon renewed with double 
vigour on the part of the enemy, who at length 
succeeded in forcing the Tyrolese to retreat to 
the Laditcher bridge, which was immediately 
blown up. The enemy had sustained too severe 
a loss to renew the combat, and both parties se- 
parated. Haspinger immediately retreated to 
Brixen to collect provisions and to reassemble 
those peasants who had returned there during 
the action. 

As soon as the news of this affair had trans- 
spired, Hofer # quitted his place of concealment 
in the Valley of Passeyr, and on the 7th of 
August appeared at the head of several thou- 

* Hofer was summoned by the Duke of Dantzig to appear 
at Innspruck before the 11th of August, to which he replied, 
that " he would come accompanied by 10,000 sharpshooters.", 



158 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

sand men on the Gaufen, where he joined 
Speckbacher, who had already taken up his 
position there. His appearance was soon known 
throughout the country, and his presence seemed 
to inspire the patriots with new courage, so that 
his army gained strength every day in numbers 
as well as in spirit and enthusiasm. The name 
of Hofer was sufficient to rouse those to activity 
who still hesitated, and the success which 
marked the commencement of this second war, 
confirmed the most sanguine in their hopes and 
expectations. 

In the beginning of the month of August 
General Stengel made several ineffectual efforts 
to dislodge Speckbacher from the advantageous 
position which he had taken up at Tschofes, 
but he was repulsed in every attack, and was at 
length compelled to abandon his attempts in 
that quarter. The Tyrolese, however, on the 
great road to Brixen, were driven back and 
dispersed after a severe contest, by Count Witt- 
genstein, and the Duke of Dantzig upon re- 
ceiving intelligence of his success, advanced 
over the Brenner, at the head of a strong body 
of chosen troops, with the intention of over- 
whelming the patriots and passing through the 
country with his whole army. — This, however, 
was a task beyond his powers. — He had not 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 159 

advanced far, before the rear of his army was 
attacked with great fury by a body of peasants 
and completely routed, it was a tumultuary 
attack without order or regularity ; but irre- 
sistible on that account. The peasants tore the 
dragoons from their horses, and killed them 
with the butt ends of their muskets. — Lefevre 
himself escaped with the greatest difficulty to 
the village of Mauls, having lost his hat and 
sword ; here, however, he was not safe, a fresh 
force of peasants immediately attacked the rem- 
nant of his scattered army which had fled with 
him, and in a short time completed the victory 
so gloriously begun by their countrymen. The 
whole division was dispersed over the moun- 
tains, having deserted their guns, ammunition 
and baggage waggons, which were left in the 
hands of the conquerors. Lefevre after having 
collected a few of his followers retreated in 
haste to Innspruck, disguised as a common 
trooper, where he arrived on the 11th of August 
at four o'clock in the afternoon, and on the same 
night all the survivors of his discomfited army 
were reassembled in that city. 

On the 8th of August, 1700 Bavarians under 
the command of Baron Bourscheidt, and the 
French Colonel Vasereau, advanced from Lan- 
deck towards Prutz, in hopes of being able to 



160 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

pass through the Vintschgau and fall upon the 
rear of Hofer's troops at Sterzing. — They were 
met, however, at Prutz by a handful of Tyrolese 
sharpshooters, who, after having fired upon 
them with great success for a short time, re- 
treated to the adjacent mountains, where, under 
the shelter of the rocks, they kept up a continual 
harassing fire upon the enemy. — These intrepid 
men were shortly joined by a large body of their 
countrymen, who, after a severe contest of se- 
veral hours, compelled their opponents to retreat 
with considerable loss. The Bavarians in vain en- 
deavoured to rally and enter the village of Prutz, 
they were repulsed in every attack, and after 
having kept up the fight until the troops were 
completely worn out with fatigue, and had lost 
great numbers, they found it necessary to retreat 
to Dullenfeld where they passed the night. At 
break of day the Tyrolese recommenced their 
fire, but the Bavarians were too distant from the 
mountains to be much annoyed by it, and they, 
therefore desisted as soon as they discovered that 
they were merely wasting their powder : a pause 
of some hours ensued, at the close of which, the 
Tyrolese, impatient at the immoveable manner 
in which the Bavarians retained their position, 
assembled their whole force amounting to about 
300 men, armed with clubs, pikes and scythes, 



HISTORY OF HOFER. l6l 

and shouting as they advanced, precipitated 
themselves upon their enemies in the plain. 

The Bavarians, on seeing their determination, 
displayed a white flag and called for quarter ; 
upon this they were desired by the Tyrolese to 
lay down their arms, and to deliver themselves 
up as prisoners of war, together with their am- 
munition and horses. — To this they readily 
agreed, provided their lives were spared. — About 
900 men and 200 horses fell into the hands of 
the Tyrolese, the rest having previously escaped, 
with the exception of about 250 who were 
killed. — The Tyrolese, during these two days, 
had only seven killed and four wounded. 

Immediately after the evacuation of Sacksen- 
burg, Rusca had advanced to Lienz. He chiefly 
distinguished himself by his atrocities. Every 
peasant who was found in arms was instantly 
shot ; women and old men who were incapable 
of active warfare fell victims to his barbarity. 
The peasants, justly incensed at his conduct, 
soon determined to be revenged ; and when he 
least expected it, they appeared in force at 
Lienzer Clause, headed by Anton Steger of the 
Pusterthal, Hibler, Adam Weber, and Baron 
Luxheim, a Swabian volunteer, who had been 
formerly in the English service. — Rusca de- 
fended himself but a short time against the 

M 



162 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

furious attacks of this army of irritated peasants, 
and having lost 1200 men he retreated in the 
utmost disorder to the fort of Sacksenburg, 
taking with him great numbers of sick and 
wounded. 

Thus without the aid of the Austrians, the 
Tyrolese had been successful in almost every 
attack upon their enemies, and these successes 
did not fail to inspire them with the most con- 
fident hopes of being able to realize those plans 
which had been so ably formed for the libera- 
tion of their country. Hofer became every day 
more beloved — every victory was attributed to 
him ; and when the army under his command de- 
feated the enemy a second time in the auspicious 
neighbourhood of the Isel mountain, he was 
looked upon as a sort of deity, and Hofer's 
famous battle of the 12th of August is men- 
tioned to this day in the Tyrol with a degree 
of exultation that it is not easy to describe. 

On the memorable 12th of August the Duke 
of Dantzig had assembled the whole of his 
force, which consisted of about 25,000 men and 
forty pieces of cannon, on the plain before Inn- 
spruck, — Harassed as they had been throughout 
the country by the incessant attacks of the 
peasantry, and defeated in almost every attack, 
their courage had considerably diminished; — ac- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. l6S 

customed as they had hitherto been to victory, they 
were unwilling to face again an enemy who had 
given them such decided proofs of courage and 
firmness. — They no longer boasted of being able 
to " disperse the rebels," but seemed only anxious 
to ensure to themselves a safe retreat to Salz- 
burg. — It is said that Lefevre himself was not 
particularly confident of success, although his 
army was so much superior in numbers, for he 
had learned by experience the character of those 
he had to oppose. 

It is extraordinary, therefore, that at this 
moment, when the Tyrolese occupied so strong 
and so advantageous a position, when he knew 
that their force was considerable, and that his 
own troops had lost much of their usual spirit 
and scrupled not even to express every where 
their reluctance to fight, Lefevre should have 
hazarded a battle, the result of which he knew 
must be of the greatest importance to the Tyro- 
lese if they were successful, and if he were so, 
would be of little comparative consequence to 
the Bavarians. 

The Tyrolese were posted on the Isel moun- 
tain, the scene of the former great victory of the 
29th of May.— Their force consisted of 18,000 
men, 300 of whom were Austrians who had 
determined to share their fate when the Austrian 
forces were recalled. — They were tolerably sup- 

m .2 



164 HISTORY CM? HOFER. 

plied with ammunition, but their provisions were 
nearly exhausted, and some hundreds of peasants 
in consequence of this want had already deserted 
to their homes. — Hofer commanded in person, 
and took up his quarters, as he had done in May, 
at the public house of the Spade, under the 
Schonberg. — Haspinger, the Capuchin, although 
so worn out by his indefatigable exertions as to 
have scarcely strength to walk, advanced by 
Natters and Mutters to the Husselhof. The 
right wing was commanded by Speckbacher, 
whose line extended from the heights of Pass- 
berg to the bridges of Halle and Volders ; under 
him Count Joseph Mohr, at the head of the 
peasants of the Vintschgau, was particularly 
distinguished. 

During the night previous to the battle, Has- 
pinger roused Hofer from his sleep, and having 
first united with him in fervent prayer, he re- 
ceived his orders and hurried to the outposts to 
impart them to the several chiefs. At six o'clock 
in the morning the firing commenced. The plan 
of attack resembled much that of the 29th May ; 
the object of the Bavarians appeared to be to 
dislodge the Tyrolese from their position on the 
heights of Mount Isel, while they, on the other 
hand, as they drove back their enemies, seemed 
intent upon making themselves masters of the 
bridges and approaches to the town. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. l65 

The firing was tremendous, and continued for 
several hours with unabated fury. The bridge 
of the Sill was contested with great bravery on 
both sides, but at length the Bavarians gave 
way : the ground was strewed with the dead 
and dying, and on every side crowds of Bava- 
rians were seen flying, routed by the charges of 
the Tyrolese. The victory was at length com- 
plete. The loss of the Bavarians must have been 
immense: 1,700 wounded fell into the hands 
of the conquerors. The loss of the Tyro- 
lese amounted only to 50 killed and 132 
wounded.* 

The Bavarians retreated in haste over the Inn 
immediately after the battle, and began their 
march towards the frontier, committing, accord- 
ing to their usual custom, every sort of excess, 
laying waste the country in all directions, 
setting fire to villages, and plundering the 
inhabitants. On the 17th, the third divi- 
sion entered Kuf stein, and by the 20th the 
whole army was in Salzburg. The Tyrolese 
pursued them to some distance, and Speck- 
bacher had a skirmish with the rear guard at 

* This is the Tyrolese account. The Bavarians estimate 
the loss of the Tyrolese at 1,000 men, and acknowlege their 
own to have been 5,000. 

M 3 



166 HTSTORY OF HOFER. 

Schwaz, in which they lost a great number of 
men. 

On the 15th of August, (Napoleon's birthday) 
Hofer made his triumphal entry into Innspruck, 
having delivered his country a third time from 
the Bavarians. His presence^ at this juncture 
was particularly necessary, for the people were 
beginning to plunder every thing they could 
seize ; but as soon as he appeared, order was re- 
stored ; the fear of his displeasure checked every 
disposition to plunder. He immediately gave 
directions that whatever had been taken either 
from the Bavarians or from the country people, 
should be delivered up within eight days ; a 
search was made by his order in every house in 
Innspruck, and a heavy fine imposed upon 
all persons who were detected in an attempt to 
secrete any stolen property, however inconsider- 
able its value might be. 

Hofer, upon entering Innspruck, took up his 
quarters at the Imperial Castle, where he conti- 
nued to reside during his stay. His first care 
was to order a general thanksgiving for the late 
victory, which was observed throughout the 
country with the greatest solemnity. He as- 
sumed the title of Imperial Commandant of the 
Tyrol, and surrounded by his aid-de-camps and 
attendants, kept up a sort of court, which, when 
we consider his origin, his character, and his 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 16*7 

manners, must appear in the highest degree ridi- 
culous, but which was in some sort acknow- 
ledged by his countrymen, who obeyed his pro- 
clamations and edicts with the most scrupulous 
attention. 

Hofer, however, had many difficulties to con- 
tend with. The inhabitants in the south of the 
Tyrol were discontented and riotous, and during 
the temporary absence of Morandell, who had 
been appointed commandant of that part of the 
country, had put themselves under the command 
of new leaders, who were not equal to such a 
command. Hofer therefore hastened to Botzen, 
aware that his presence there was material, and 
on the 4th of September issued the following 
proclamation : 

" Best beloved South Tyroleans. 

" It is with great displeasure that 1 have learnt 
your ill-treatment of my troops. I publish now, 
my dear brave countrymen and brothers in arms, 
this proclamation, that the well-thinking may 
know how to behave to those who are con- 
ducting themselves so ill. From my heart, which 
beats for you all, I detest robbery and depreda- 
tion of every sort. I hate contributions and ex- 
tortions, and be assured that I will not pardon 
these mean actions. 

m 4 



168 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

" It is the duty of every brave defender of his 
country to watch over the honour, and cultivate 
the affection of his neighbour, that he may not 
incur the displeasure of the Almighty who de- 
fends us so miraculously. Dear brothers in 
arms recollect youselves — against whom do we 
fight ? against friends or foes ? Against our 
enemies we have fought and conquered, and will 
still fight against them, but not against our bro- 
thers, who have been already so much oppressed. 
Consider that we ought to protect and assist our 
fellow creatures, who are unable to carry arms. 
What would the world, the witness of our con- 
duct — what would our posterity say, were we 
not to fulfil these duties? The glory of the 
Tyrolese would be lost for ever ! 

" Dear countrymen. The whole world is asto- 
nished at our deeds. The name of the Tyrolese 
is already immortalised, and it is only necessary 
that we should fulfil our duty towards God and 
our neighbour to complete a work so gloriously 
begun. 

" Brave countrymen and brothers in arms, 
supplicate the Creator of all things, who is alike 
able to defend or destroy kingdoms at his plea- 
sure, and he will guide you. Who at this mo- 
ment would wish to disturb our tranquillity? I 
summon all the clergy and those who are unable 



HISTORY OF HOFEU. 169 

to bear arms to assist and protect my troops, and 
such as are not able to render them any service 
to implore God on their knees to bless our en- 
deavours. 

" I further acquaint all public bodies, towns, 
villages, and my troops in general, that, as so 
many irregularities have happened in conse- 
quence of the conduct of commandants of their 
own choosing, during the absence of Joseph 
Morandell, whom I had appointed Commandant 
of die Southern Tyrol, no proclamations, orders, 
or arrangements are to be attended to, unless 
issued and signed by him. 

" Andrew Hofer, 

" Commander in Chief of the 
" Tyrol." 

"Botzen, Uh September, 1809." 

Hofer, however, although certainly unequal 
to direct the government at the head of which 
he was placed, did not remain inactive. His 
orders were given without much thought, but 
with a decision which was serviceable to the 
cause, at a moment when so much irregularity 
prevailed in "the country, and they were always 
obeyed with the utmost promptitude and ex- 
actness. That which was probably of the 
greatest advantage to him, was his rigid ad- 



170 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

herence to the form of government adopted by 
Austria. No step was taken by him but in the 
name of the Emperor, and the people were conse- 
quently more ready to obey orders that came, or 
at least appeared to come, from the Imperial 
Court. He levied taxes to enable him to carry 
on the war, issued a coinage of twenty kreutzer 
pieces, divided the landsturm into companies, 
and, as far as was in his power, carried the an- 
cient system of government into effect. 

Meanwhile the Vorarlberg, although still in 
arms for the Tyrolese cause, was of little service 
to them, on account of the incessant quarrels 
and discontent of its chiefs. Schneider, who had 
formerly led them, had been captured and 
dragged to prison by the enemy, so that the 
Vorarlbergers now looked to Hofer, not only 
for advice, but support ; while he on his part, 
aware of the consequence of their assistance, 
used his utmost endeavours to appease and tran- 
quillize them. But the views of Hofer and his 
associates were at this moment chiefly turned 
towards Salzburg and Carinthia. They had 
succeeded in driving their enemies from the 
Tyrol, and they continued their hostilities against 
them into the neighbouring countries with the 
greatest ardour. To the Salzburgers Hofer issued 
an animated proclamation, which induced num- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 171 

bers to take up arms. Speckbacher in the mean 
time defeated a strong body of Bavarians on the 
1 6th and 17th, at Unken and Lofen, the loss of 
the enemy in killed and prisoners amounting to 
1,700 men, many of whom perished in the river 
Saal. 

Peter Thalguter, who shared the command 
with Speckbacher* on this occasion, saw a Bava- 
rian officer of rank swimming for his life in the 
Saal, and precipitating himself into the stream, 
made him prisoner, while yet in the water. 
After this victory, Speckbacher advanced as far 
as Bertholdsgarn and the district of Reichenhall. 

Harrasser a tanner, of Innspruck, took Werfen, 
which opened a communication between Salz- 
burg and Villach ; and on the 25th Haspinger 
drove the enemy from the pass of Lueg, advanced 
a few days afterwards to Hallein and threatened 
Salzburg ; his success, however, made him care- 
less, and his advance was so precipitate as to en- 
danger his retreat. 

During these operations, Hofer remained 
quietly at Innspruck, but the success of the 
Tyrolese arms under his government was a 

* Breunig, Speckbacher's adjutant on this occasion, served 
afterwards during the war in the Peninsula, in the German 
Legion, and was raised to the rank of captain for his gallant 
and distinguished conduct. 



172 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

source of great regret to those who had left the 
country with the Austrians; they had then 
abandoned the cause as hopeless, and were now 
lamenting their absence from scenes which re- 
flected so much glory on their countrymen. 
Among the rest Eisenstecken and Sieberer, who 
had both distinguished themselves at the begin- 
ning of the war, felt acutely their separation 
from Hofer, and at length determined to return 
at all hazards and share his fate. Eisenstecken 
was the bearer of a gold chain and medal sent 
by the Emperor to Hofer, which he presented to 
him at Inspruck on the 28th of September, and 
was appointed by him to the command in the 
south of the Tyrol. Sieberer afterwards joined 
the Tyrol ese troops at Kufstein and the Thier- 
see. Haspinger received also a cross of merit. 

On the 4th of October,, a grand festival was 
held at Innspruck in honour of Hofer, who was 
on that day formally invested with the medal, 
in the great church at the foot of the tomb of 
Maximilian, by the Abbot of Wiltau, amidst the 
acclamations of the people. The day was spent 
in rejoicing and revelry ; but the Tyrolese were 
not to witness another day of such exultation. 

Their successes unhappily were but a prelude 
to the tragical events which followed, and they 
who had been the objects of wonder and admira- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 173 

tion to the whole world for their gallant pa- 
triotism, were doomed to become again subser- 
vient to a power against whom they had strug- 
gled with such bravery and perseverance. 

It was at this period that Miiller and Scho- 
necher were dispatched as deputies from the 
Tyrol to England to implore the assistance of 
the British government. In their present dis- 
tress, it was perfectly natural that they should 
have recourse to a nation, in which suffering and 
sorrow of every kind are sure to find protection 
and relief — The deputies were received, as 
might have been expected, by men of all ranks, 
with the greatest kindness and hospitality. The 
honours to which their steady patriotism, and 
their generous loyalty justly entitled them, were 
liberally bestowed upon them by a people who 
well knew how to appreciate the value of those 
rights and privileges for which they were con- 
tending. Triey were righting for their consti- 
tution, and that was sufficient to ensure to them 
the good will and sympathy of Britons ; but to 
give them more than this — to give them real 
and effectual assistance was impossible. A pe- 
cuniary supply, which was all that could have 
been expected, would have been of little use to 
them ; and any other aid, the remoteness of their 
situation and the rapidity with which their re- 



174 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

verses succeeded each other, made absolutely 
impracticable. 

The fresh misfortunes of the Tyrolese began 
early in the month of October. General Peyri 
advanced into the south with 6,000 men, and 
directed his march towards Trent, having pub- 
lished a proclamation in which he summoned 
the Tyrolese to lay down their arms or dread the 
consequences. 

He had received orders from CafFarelli, then 
minister of war, to make himself master of Trent, 
cost what it would, and his army directed its 
march towards that city. Peyri's advanced 
guard, under the command of Colonels Levier 
and Gavotti, pushed forward through Pilcante 
and Ala, and the van, under Percevault, Chef 
de Bataillon, kept the main road towards Ala. 
Luxheim met the advanced guard at Ampezzo, 
with a force of 1,200 men composed of Austrians 
and Tyrolese, and was repulsed with great loss. 
Roveredo fell into the hands of the enemy with- 
out much resistance; and Peyri, having been 
reinforced by the national guard of the Brenta 
and the 5th French regiment of the line, ad- 
vanced to a strong position near Lavis. The 
Tyrolese here made some show of resistance, 
and an action took place which was kept up 
for several hours with great fury on both sides ; 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 175 

but the French, who were superior in numbers, 
could not be driven from their strong post, and 
the Tyrolese were obliged to retreat, having 
lost* 150 men killed and wounded, and about 
40 prisoners. The French cavalry pursued them 
as far as Welschmichel, and took a few more 
men and one four-pounder. 

In the middle of October, however, Eisen- 
stecken drove the enemy back to Trent, and oc- 
cupied again the position at Lavis, which he kept 
for some time. 

The aspect of affairs in the north was at the 
same time equally disheartening. The Bavarians 
had advanced through Salzburg, and driven the 
Tyrolese back over their own frontiers. Speck- 
bacher, who opposed them in the pass of Strub, 
was completely defeated with the loss of more 
than 300 men. Speckbacher was desperately 
wounded, and his son, a little boy of eleven 
years old, who had accompanied him to the field, 
was taken prisoner at his side. The Tyrolese, as 
soon as they saw that their leader was wounded, 
retreated in disorder to the heights of Melek, 
from whence they afterwards fell back to Inn- 
spruck, fighting as they retreated. Speckbacher 
was closely pursued by the enemy, and at Wal- 

* The Tyrolese estimate the loss of the French on that day 
at 400 men. 



176 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

drung, where he attempted to make a stand, 
nearly fell into their hands. 

The misfortunes of the unhappy Tyrolese 
seemed to encrease daily, the tide of fortune had 
turned against them, and the overwhelming 
force of the combined armies of France and 
Bavaria, drove back and dispersed the hitherto 
victorious peasantry in every quarter. In the 
midst of these calamities, peace was finally con- 
cluded at Znaim between France and Austria, 
and the Tyrol was ceded to Bavaria for ever ! — 
Thus did the House of Austria abandon to their 
fate a people, who, unaided and unsupported, had 
struggled against a superior force — who had sacri- 
ficed their lives and their property, to prove their 
attachment to that House, and their allegiance 
to its Sovereign. Buonaparte, however, engaged 
to procure a full and complete pardon for the 
inhabitants of the Tyrol and Vorarlberg, who 
had taken a part in the insurrection ; and Eu- 
gene Beauharnois, now styling himself Eugene 
Napoleon, issued a proclamation from Villach, 
confirming to them the assurance of pardon, pro- 
vided they would instantly lay down their arms 
and return to their obedience. 

u Tyroleans ! peace is concluded between his 
majesty the Emperor of the French, King of 
Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 177 

Rhine* my August Father and Sovereign, and 
His Majesty the Emperor of Austria. 

" Peace therefore prevails every where except 
among you — you only do not enjoy its benefits. 

" Listening to perfidious suggestions, you 
have taken up arms against your laws and have 
subverted them, and now you are gathering the 
bitter fruits of your rebellion: terror governs 
your cities; idleness and misery reign among 
you ; discord is in the midst of you ; and dis- 
order every where prevails. His Majesty the 
Emperor and King, touched with your deplora- 
ble situation, and with the testimonies of re- 
pentance which several of you have conveyed 
to his throne, has expressly consented in the 
treaty of peace to pardon your errors and mis- 
conduct. 

" I then bring you peace, since I bring you 
pardon ; but I declare to you that pardon is only 
granted to you on the condition that you return 
to your obedience and duty, that you voluntarily 
lay down your arms, and that you offer no re- 
sistance to my troops. 

" Charged with the command of the armies 
which surround you, I come to receive your 
submission or compel you to submit. 

" The army will be preceded by commissioners 
appointed by me to hear your complaints, and 

N 



173 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

to do justice to the demands you may have to 
make ; but know that these commissioners can 
only listen to you when you have laid down 
your arms. 

" Tyroleans ! If your complaints and demands 
are well founded, I hereby promise that justice 
shall be done you. 

" Eugene Napoleon." 
" Head Quarters at Villach, 
9,5th of October, 1809." 

In consequence of these proclamations, and 
the unpropitious appearance of affairs in the 
Tyrol, several hundreds of peasants threw down 
their arms and submitted to their fate, and those 
who still continued to stand out against the 
enemy had lost their accustomed ardour and 
activity. — Even Hofer (who had. abandoned 
Innspruck) for a moment offered to submit and 
deliver himself up to General Drouet ; but this 
was a momentary resolution and he continued 
steadfast and firm in his determination to defend 
his country to the last extremity. — Amidst the 
defects of his character, one of the most fatal in 
the present crisis of the Tyrolese affairs, was his 
want of decision. — This was the bane of himself 
and of his country, and to its operation chiefly 
may be attributed the unfortunate conclusion 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 179 

of his short but interesting career. A strange 
notion, which had taken possession of his mind, 
that it was decreed by Providence that the 
French should be victorious, and that nothing 
could withstand the arm of Buonaparte, had for 
awhile convinced him that there was no choice 
left him but submission — for this reason he 
offered to give himself up to General Drouet, 
and issued proclamations to the Tyrolese avow- 
ing his intention of abandoning a cause which 
he for the first time considered as lost ; but it 
appears that notwithstanding this he still clung 
to a hope of future success, for he had scarcely 
resolved to submit to the French General, before 
he spurned the idea as base and cowardly, dis- 
patched messengers in all directions to rouse the 
people, and as if by magic appeared again at the 
head of an army equally devoted to himself and 
their country. — His letters to Drouet, are the 
best proofs of his feelings on this occasion. 

To General Drouet. 

" A courier from the Archduke John, furnished 
with French passports, has just brought to the 
Tyrol the news officially confirmed, that peace 
has been finally concluded between the house 
of Austria and the Emperor of the French. 

" Consoled by seeing the fate of our country 
n 2 



180 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

depend upon the generosity of the French 
Monarch, we have, in order to stop as soon as 
possible the unnecessary effusion of blood, sent 
deputies to the Viceroy of Italy, to express to 
him our respect, and to come to an understand- 
ing with him on the measures which circum- 
stances require. 

" Andrew Hofer, 
" Commander in Chief of the Tyrol. 1 ' 

" Schonberg, October 29th, 1809/' 

To General Drouet. 

" His Majesty the Viceroy of Italy having 
deigned to give the deputies of the Pusterthal 
the assurance, that if all the Tyrolese would lay 
down their arms they would be treated in the 
most indulgent manner, that all offences should 
be pardoned and forgotten, and no person should 
be persecuted, the undersigned has not hesitated 
to give to that assurance entire belief, and to 
order all the troops occupying the different posts 
to disband and return home. 

" The undersigned most humbly begs your 
excellency to treat all the Tyrolese with indul- 
gence and benevolence, and to draw a veil over 
the past. — In this case the undersigned assures 
your Excellency, that not the least injury shall 
be done to any of your soldiers. 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 181 

" However, to avoid all disorder, it may be as 
well if the entrance of your troops were delayed 
for a few days, to give the Tyrolese time to 
return home. 

" In once more recommending the people of 
the Tyrol to your Excellency's benevolence, the 
undersigned has the honour to be till death 
yours, &c. 

" Andrew Hofer." 
" Steinach, November 4, 1809." 

The Bavarians meanwhile had gained every 
day a stronger footing in the country, and 
repulsed the Tyrolese in every attempt they 
made to oppose their progress. The first divi- 
sion of the army had advanced from Loser, by 
the pass of Strub to Waidring and St. Johann, 
commanded by the Crown Prince. The second 
under Wrede, by Kessen, and the third under 
Deroy, by the great road from Kufstein. The 
advanced guard of the Tyrolese was driven back 
from Reiterwinkel, and on the 18th of October 
the whole of the Bavarian force was combined 
at Worgl ; on the 24th they marched by Kundel 
to Halle, and after some little resistance from 
the Tyrolese, made themselves masters of the 
bridge of Volders. Hofer immediately evacuated 
Innspruck and drew up his force on the Isel 

n 3 



182 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

mountain the scene of his former victory ; but 
the Bavarians did not appear inclined to attack 
them, and quietly taking possession of the city 
without firing a shot, proclaimed the peace 
which had been just concluded between France 
and Austria. The Tyrolese dispersed, and Hofer 
took up his head quarters at Steinach. 

The partial dispersion of the Tyrolese in con- 
sequence of the pardon offered to them by 
Eugene Beauharnois, and the accustomed irre- 
solution of Hofer, put a temporary stop to hos- 
tilities ; but upon the new and final declaration 
of their chief, who declared that he would fight 
till the last moment, the Tyrolese were again 
in arms, and appeared in force on their favourite 
position on the Isel mountain. It was not fated, 
however, that they should again be conquerors 
on this spot. The Bavarians were much supe- 
rior to them in strength, and after an engage- 
ment in which they did not display their usual 
gallantry, they were completely routed. 

Hofer had for some time past been the friend 
and companion of a man named Donay, a cun- 
ning intriguing priest, of moderate talents but 
quick of apprehension, who perfectly understood 
the character of Hofer, and by his constant 
flattery had gained such an ascendancy over 
him, that he could lead him as he pleased. — His 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 183 

friendship for Hofer had no object but his 
own purposes and interests. — Disliked for his 
haughtiness, and despised for his profligacy, he 
at length became the betrayer of that friend 
who had confided in him, and for the sake of 
a paltry reward delivered him who had been 
his greatest benefactor, into the hands of his 
enemies and murderers. — This man was dis- 
patched in company with Sieberer, as deputy 
from the Tyrol to Beauharnois who was then at 
Villach, to negociate for the pardon and safety of 
those chiefs who had either instigated or taken 
part in the insurrection. — Beauharnois agreed to 
their request (as has been already seen), and on 
their return Hofer published the following pro- 
clamation to the Tyrolese. 

" Tyrolese. — Dear Brothers ! — 

" Peace between His Majesty the Emperor of 
the French, King of Italy, and the Emperor of 
Austria, was concluded on the 14th of last 
month. — We have been informed of this event 
in a manner which cannot leave us the least 
reason to doubt. The greatness of soul of Na- 
poleon assures us of our pardon and of an obli- 
vion for the past. — In consequence of this I 
have assembled as great a number as I have been 
able of the deputies of the different districts, 

n 4 



184 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

and with their consent I have sent to Villach 
M. Donay of Schlanders and Major Seiberer of 
Unterlangenkamf with a letter addressed to his 
Imperial Highness the Viceroy, and signed by 
all the deputies of the districts. The two com- 
missioners have returned to day and have re- 
ported the answer of the Viceroy. 

" Brethren ! — we cannot maintain war against 
the invincible forces of Napoleon. Entirely 
abandoned by Austria, we are precipitating our- 
selves into an abyss of misfortune. — I can no 
longer command you, as I can no longer gua- 
rantee your security from the disasters to which 
you would be exposed. — A power of a superior 
order guides the steps of Napoleon.— It is the 
immutable decree of Divine Providence which 
decides victories and the condition of states. — It 
is no longer permitted to oppose this decree. — It 
would be madness to strive against the course of 
a torrent; let us now render ourselves by our 
resignation to the Divine will worthy of the 
protection of Heaven ; and by our fraternal love, 
and the submission which is expected of us, 
worthy of the generosity and benevolence of 
Napoleon, &c. &c. 

5 Andrew Hofer." 
H Sterzing, $th November, 1809-" 

A proclamation which was published on the 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 185 

15th, dated Passeyr, shows how much Hofer's 
feelings were changed in a few clays. 

" I felt inclined to lay down my arms, pre- 
vailed upon by men whom I considered as 
friends to my country, but who, as I now find, 
are its enemies and traitors ; I therefore think it 
right to inform you, that, all the Passeyr Valley 
is again in open insurrection. All the inhabit- 
ants, both old and young, have taken up arms 
again, and the enemy was yesterday defeated with 
great loss ; I therefore call on you, brethren, 
to rejoin us ; were we to surrender to the enemy, 
we should soon see all the youths of the Tyrol 
dragged away from their homes, our churches 
and convents destroyed, divine worship abo- 
lished, and ourselves overwhelmed w r ith eternal 
misery. Fight, therefore, in defence of your 
native country, I shall fight with you and for 
you, as a father for his children. I feel obliged 
thus briefly to communicate my sentiments to 
you, lest I fall a sacrifice for my own people ; you 
would incur the same fate were you to remain 
indifferent spectators, and not take up arms 
again for your God and your native country." 

The proclamations and entreaties of Beau- 
harnois having no effect, and the peasants still 
continuing in arms, Rusca and Baraguay d'Hil- 
liers were dispatched into the Pusterthal on the 



186 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

3d of November. On the 4th they occupied 
Brunecken ; here they were opposed in a gal- 
lant manner by the Tyrolese, who were however 
unable to make much opposition, and fell back 
fio-htino- to Mulbach Clause. Rusca moved 

o o 

forward eagerly in pursuit, and at length, after 
meeting with the most determined resistance, 
succeeded in dispersing them, although his own 
loss was very considerable. Baraguay d'Hil- 
liers advanced to Brixen. In the mean time the 
Bavarian troops marched from Innspruck. On the 
10th of November, the position on the Brenner 
was occupied, and Major Hoppe was at Sterzing. 
General Peyri at the same time appeared on the 
heights of Fleims, and hastened to join his allies, 
having overcome every resistance that he met 
with in the mountains. Thus the small force of 
the Tyrolese which remained in arms was com- 
pletely surrounded. 

On the 14th, however, Rusca made an attempt 
to enter the valley of Passeyr, and met with less 
success than he had formerly done. Torggler 
and Peter Thalguter met him and drove him 
back from the old castle of Tirol, pushed for- 
wards to Terlau and the heights of Jenesien, 
where the Bavarians were routed ; Rusca him- 
self was slightly wounded, and his loss amounted 
to 600 men killed and wounded and 1700 pri- 
soners. Peter Thalguter was killed in this action 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 187 

in the very act of taking an eagle from the 
enemy, and fell universally regretted by his 
countrymen. 

Baraguay d'Hilliers rightly judged that he 
should be able to effect more by clemency than 
by force of arms ; and for this reason dispatched 
a messenger to Passeyr, to invite Hofer and his 
friend Holznecht to Meran, promising them at 
the same time every indulgence, and full par- 
don, provided they would put an end to hostili- 
ties. Hofer for a long time hesitated what 
course to pursue. Baraguay d'Hilliers, as well 
as Beauharnois, was urgent in his entreaties, and 
would have done any thing in : his power to have 
secured to him a safe retreat, but he refused to 
bend to the storm that hung over his head till it 
was too late to recede. Deceived by false intelli- 
gence, and traitorous companions, he had still 
clung to the vain hope of seeing better days, 
until he was surrounded and overwhelmed by 
those enemies whom he had so long and so gal- 
lantly opposed. 

In this dilemma most of the chiefs took ad- 
vantage of the proffered protection of Beau- 
harnois, and joined a large party of Tyrolese 
emigrants at Warasdin. But Hofer persisted in 
his refusal to accompany them, and when they 
had all deserted him, suddenly disappeared, 
retiring to a place of concealment in the moun- 



188 HISTORY OF HOFEK. 

tains of his native valley, where he remained for 
some time undiscovered in spite of the active 
search that was made after him, and the reward 
that was offered for his head. Haspinger es- 
caped through the Munsterthal to the Grisons ; 
and Speckbacher, who, deceived by Hofer's 
orders and proclamations, remained under arms 
for some time, and made several attempts to 
oppose the enemy, was driven back from every 
position, and by degrees deserted by all his com- 
panions. General Deroy offered a large reward 
for the apprehension of his person; but after 
encountering innumerable difficulties, and meet- 
ing with the most extraordinary adventures, he 
succeeded in escaping to Austria. Kolb also, 
after remaining in arms so long as he was able to 
collect any force, followed the steps of Speck- 
bacher, accompanied by twelve companions, and 
arrived in safety at Vienna. 

At the beginning of December there were 
but few peasants in arms ; here and there indeed 
some few straggling parties of desperate men, 
who had nothing to lose, and who hoped to 
profit by partial plunder, were still to be seen ; 
but these too had lost their leaders, and resem- 
bled rather gangs of banditti than the remains 
of the once victorious army of the Tyrolese 
patriots. Baraguay d'Hilliers, however, who had 
laboured hard to restore tranquillity to the 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 189 

country, was vexed at the continuance of the 
partial appearance of insurrection, and on the 
9th of December published a proclamation, 
which ought not to be omitted. 

" Tyroleans ! 

" As I advanced with the French army into 
your country I found you in arms ; I believed 
that you had been seduced from your duty, but 
that you were not then guilty, and I felt con- 
vinced that you would lay down those arms as 
soon as you were informed of the contents of 
the treaty of peace, which promised you pardon 
on that condition. 

" Touched by the generosity of my sovereign, 
the Emperor, I have acted towards you with the 
greatest clemency. I did not punish those who 
opposed me at Mulbach and Meran. Those 
same French whom you are so eager to destroy, 
have respected your villages, your women, and 
your property. The Pusterthal, the Vintschgaw, 
and the Passeyrthal, which were the scenes of 
your most obstinate fury, teem with examples of 
the moderation of the French. But while I 
relied upon the oaths of those amongst you who 
were inclined to take advantage of my peaceful 
offers, some traitors who depended only on the 
war, who had nothing to sacrifice and nothing 
to lose, persuaded the inhabitants of the district 



190 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

of Brixen, to take up arms again, although their 
pardon was only on condition of their tranquil- 
lity. These were attacked, conquered and dis- 
persed, and their houses, which were soiled by 
crime, burnt to the ground. Tyroleans ! let this 
dreadful example be a warning to you. There 
will yet be many who will seek to seduce you, 
but spare me the pain of being obliged to punish 
you. And you freeholders, magistrates, and 
ministers of God, combine yourselves against 
these bands of disturbers ; I desire nothing of 
you but that you will remain quietly at home ; 
your property, your persons, your religion, laws, 
customs and prejudices shall all be respected ; 
but those who have broken their words shall be 
deservedly punished. For the sake of your- 
selves remain faithful to your words, and trust 
in God and the Emperor Napoleon. 

" Baraguay D'Hilliers." 
" Botzen, December 9, 1809." 

On the 22d of December several of the Ty- 
rolese chiefs were shot, for having borne arms 
after the publication of this proclamation. 

The sudden disappearance of Hofer in the 
mean time had given rise to innumerable con- 
tradictory rumours and conjectures. Many be- 
lieved that he had followed the example of 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 191 

Speckbacher and his companions, and escaped 
over the mountains into Austria, and they ex- 
pected to hear intelligence of him soon from 
that quarter; others were persuaded that he had 
actually been seen at Vienna; and some few 
rightly conjectured that he was concealed in the 
Tyrol. The place of his concealment, in which 
he remained from the end of November to the 
end of the month of January following, was a 
solitary Alpine hut, four long leagues distant 
from his own home, at times inaccessible from 
the snow which surrounded it ; a few faithful 
adherents supplied him from time to time with 
the food that was necessary for himself and his 
family, and more than once he was visited by 
confidential messengers from the Emperor of 
Austria, who used every entreaty to make him 
quit his abode and follow them to Austria, as- 
suring him at the same time a safe conduct 
through the enemy's army. But Hofer steadily 
refused all their offers, and expressed his deter- 
mination never to abandon either his country or 
his family. He adhered tenaciously to all his 
old attachments and habits, and even resisted 
the urgent entreaties of his friends, who endea- 
voured to persuade him to cut off his beard, from 
an apprehension that it would lead to a dis- 
covery of his person. At length, the traitor 



1£2 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

Donay, once his intimate friend, allured by the 
flattering promises of the French, basely per- 
suaded a man who had been entrusted with the 
secret, to betray him to Baraguay d'Hilliers, and 
Captain Renouard, of the 44th Regiment, was 
appointed to the command of 1600 men to take 
him prisoner. Besides this force, which appears 
enormous when we consider that it was intended 
merely for the capture of one unfortunate man, 
who, situated as he was, could not hope to de- 
fend himself, 2000 more were ordered to be in 
readiness to assist them, so fearful were they of 
some attempt being made to rescue him. 

The column began their march at midnight 
over ice and snow, and at 5 o'clock in the morn- 
ing of the 20th of January Hofer and his family 
were made prisoners. It was dark when the 
French approached the hut, but as soon as he 
heard the officer enquire for him he came intre- 
pidly forward and submitted to be bound. 

He was then marched, together with his wife, 
his daughter, and his son, who was 12 years 
old, through Meran to Botzen, amidst the shouts 
of the French soldiery, and the tears of his 
countrymen. At Botzen he met with kinder 
treatment ; Baraguay d'Hilliers gave orders that 
he should be removed to a more commodious 
prison, and that less rigour should be used 



HISTORY OF HOFER, " ]Q3 

against him. The French officers also did all in 
their power to alleviate the pain of his confine- 
ment by such attentions as it was in their power 
to bestow, in return for the kindness with which 
he had always treated his prisoners. While at 
Botzen he requested forgiveness of several per- 
sons whom he feared he had offended, but was 
answered only by their tears ; and having parted 
with his family, whom he was fated never to see 
again, he was hurried off under a strong escort 
to Mantua. 

From his long confinement, in his miserable 
retreat, and his coarse food, his appearance was 
much altered, and his hair had become more grey ; 
but his spirit was as untamed as ever, and his 
countenance in the midst of the gloom which 
surrounded him, preserved to the last the same 
expression of cheerfulness and serenity. He 
did not however expect the sentence which was 
passed upon him, but continued to hope that his 
innocence, and the justice of his cause would 
protect him. 

On his arrival at Mantua a court-martial was 
immediately holden for the purpose of trying 
him, of which General Bisson, then Governor, 
was appointed President; on comparing the 
votes a great difference of opinion was found to 
prevail as to the nature of his sentence; the 

o 



194 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

majority were for confinement; two had the 
courage to vote for his entire deliverance; but a 
telegraph from Milan decided the question, by 
decreeing death within twent}^-four hours, thus 
putting it out of the power of Austria to render 
him any assistance. 

Berthier, who was then at Vienna, excited uni- 
versal indignation by the hypocritical manner in 
which he afTectedto pity him; he ventured even 
to affirm that it would cause great pain to Na- 
poleon, who would never have permitted such a 
proceeding had he been aware of it. Hofer 
received his sentence of death with the same 
unshaken firmness that had marked his character 
throughout, and requested that a priest might be 
allowed to attend him, which was immediately 
complied with. To this priest (Manifesti) who 
never quitted him till the moment of his death, 
he delivered his last adieu to his family, con- 
versed with him of the Tyrolese war, with great 
eagerness, and constantly expressed his con- 
fidence that the Tyrol would sooner or later 
return to the government of Austria. 

The fatal morning of his execution now ar- 
rived. As the the clock struck 1 1 the generale 
sounded, a battalion of grenadiers was drawn 
out, and the officers who were to attend the exe- 
cution entered his prison. As he came from 

«D«*107 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 1£5 

thence he passed by the barracks ori the Porta 
Molina, in which the Tyrolese were confined ; 
all who were there fell on their knees, put up 
their prayers and wept aloud. Those who were 
at large in the citadel assembled on the road by 
which he passed, and approaching as near as the 
escort permitted them, threw themselves on the 
ground and implored his blessing. This Hofer 
gave them, and then begged their forgiveness 
for having been the cause of their present mis- 
fortunes, assuring them at the same time that he 
felt confident they would once again return un- 
der the dominion of the Emperor Francis, to 
whom he cried out the last " vivat" with a clear 
and steady voice. He delivered to Manifest!, 
the priest, every thing he possessed, to be dis- 
tributed amongst his countrymen ; this consisted 
of 500 florins in Austrian bank notes, his silver 
snuff-box, and his beautiful rosary ; a few mo- 
ments before his death he also delivered to this 
faithful attendant his small silver rosary, which 
he constantly carried about him. 

On the broad bastion, at a little distance from 
the Porta Ceresa, the commanding officer halted 
his men. The grenadiers formed a square open 
in the rear ; twelve men and a corporal stepped 
forward, while Hofer remained standing in the 
centre. The drummer then offered him a white 

o £ 



19^ HISTORY OF HOFER. 

handkerchief to bind his eyes, and told him that 
it was necessary to kneel down, but Hofer de- 
clined the handkerchief, and peremptorily re- 
fused to kneel, observing, " that he was used 
to stand upright before his Creator, and in that 
posture he would deliver up his spirit to him." 
He cautioned the corporal to perform his duty 
well, at the same time presenting him with a 
piece of twenty kreutzers, and having uttered a 
few words by way of farewell, expressive of his 
unshaken attachment to his native country, he 
pronounced the word " Fire" with a firm voice. 
His death, like that of Palm, was not instan- 
taneous, for on the first fire he sunk only on his 
knees; a merciful shot, however, at last dis- 
patched him. The spot on which he fell is still 
considered sacred by his countrymen and com- 
panions in arms. 

His body, instead of being allowed to remain 
for some time on the place of execution, as was 
usual on such occasions, was borne by the grena- 
diers on a black bier to the church of St. Mi- 
chael, where it lay in state, and a guard of 
honour appointed to watch it, that the people 
might see that the much dreaded Barbone (or 
General Sanvird as the French used to call him) 
was really no more. The funeral then took place, 
and by the solemnity with which it was con- 



HISTORY OF HOFER. 197 

ducted, it appeared as if the French were anxious 
to compensate for the injury they had done him 
when alive, by the honours they paid to him now 
dead. His family were permitted to depart for 
Austria, and the Emperor immediately gave them 
a pension of 2000 florins, and a sum of money 
to enable them to settle ; but his widow could 
not prevail upon herself to abandon her native 
country, and in spite of the offers made to her 
by the Court of Austria, preferred returning to 
her old habitation in the valley of Passeyr. His 
son was also handsomely provided for. 

Thus perished Hofer in the prime of life. 
Amidst the numerous crimes that stain the name 
of Napoleon, there is not one of a deeper dye 
than the murder of Hofer. With all his faults, 
all his irresolution, and contradictory conduct, 
when we reflect that Hofer was a simple, un- 
educated village innkeeper, who opposed for 
some time with success the enormous power of 
France and Bavaria, with an army of undisci- 
plined peasants, we cannot contemplate his con- 
duct without astonishment and admiration. It 
is true that his name will not occupy a conspicu- 
ous place in the page of general history ; but 
in his own country, by those who knew and 
could estimate his merits, as well as by those 
who had experienced his power or his kindness, 
it will never be forgotten. 



198 HISTORY OF HOFER. 

By his companions and countrymen, he was 
regarded as the hero, the saviour of his country. 
His faults were forgotten in his victories ; and 
his name is never mentioned in the Tyrol at this 
day without tears of grateful affection and ad- 
miration. 

A simple tomb has been erected to his memory 
on the Brenner, at a short distance from his own 
habitation ; it contains no other inscription than 
his name, and the dates of his birth and death. 
The record of his actions is left to be transmitted, 
as it doubtless will be, to the latest posterity, in 
the popular stories and rude ballads of the 
mountaineers, who love and revere his name as a 
model of disinterested loyalty and devoted at- 
tachment to his native land. 



THE END. 



London : Printed by C. Roworth, 
Bell-yard, Temple-bar. 



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